Killers 'good people'
19/01/2007 11:56  - (SA)  

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Pretoria - The four Waterkloof schoolboys convicted of murdering a homeless man and assaulted another were good people who had done a bad thing, the Pretoria regional court heard on Friday.

Their legal representative, advocate Jaap Cilliers SC, was presenting his final argument in mitigation of sentence of Christoff Bekker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt.

The Pretoria High Court has already found that they may not be sentenced to life in prison as the were minors - 16 and still in school - at the time the crimes were committed in 2001. They were found guilty in 2005.

Cilliers repeatedly told the court they were not prison material. It was also not likely they would repeat the offence and they did not pose a threat to society, he contended.

"They would not receive rehabilitation in prison. In fact it would only break them," he said.

The State advocate, Johan Kruger SC, has handed to the court an 86-page report on sentences in similar cases. The youths involved were sentenced to, on average, 12 years in prison.

The case continues.

- SAPA

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