Killer released

The story of The Top Prisoner in C-Max is certainly a singular one. Ebersohn is right in that I was against Oliver Hall’s release from the beginning. I believe some killers are born with a singular propensity for violence. Others are shaped by the circumstances of their lives. Hall is a born killer.

Paroling him was always going to be a recipe for disaster. It should never have happened. The only reason that he was granted parole was a short spell in which, during apartheid days, he was a member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe. But for Hall that was simply an opportunity to kill without being held responsible. He was never a freedom fighter.

It seems there were people in high places who believed he should be given another chance. No matter what I said they were going to let him go.