Legal Development

A Jim Crow law was refined last week in Natal, South Africa. Sentence of four months' imprisonment for a native woman was upheld by the Natal Supreme Court; but the court suspended sentence of her partner, an R.A.F. man. Their offense: illicit sexual intercourse. In South Africa, Natal is one of the provinces where intercourse between blacks and whites is taboo. The law has previously provided equal punishment for both.

Judge-President Roy Hathorn, with the concurrence of all other Natal judges, ruled that visiting troops hereafter involved in such cases shall be given suspended sentences. The Judge-President's reasons: 1) it is hard for them to realize the criminal nature of their offense in Natal; 2) temptation is strong in local shebeens (speakeasies); 3) it is undesirable to imprison soldiers needed for fighting the war. Since native offenders are presumed to know the law, they will continue to go to jail.

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