R v Balla and Others

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: Schreiner JA, Fagan JA and Steyn JA
• Judgment Date: 16 May 1955
• Citation: 1955 (3) SA 274 (A)
• Hearing Date: 05 May 1955
• Court: Appellate Division

A Schreiner, J.A.:

The three appellants were convicted of murder by a court consisting of CANEY, J. and assessors, sitting in the Natal Southern District Circuit Local Division. No extenuating circumstances being found, each was sentenced to death, but the learned Judge granted B them leave to appeal to this Court.

The facts as they appear from the Crown evidence may be briefly summarized as follows. [The learned Judge after analysing the evidence and having dismissed the appeal on the merits, proceeded.]

Counsel also argued that the trial Court should have found the existence C of extenuating circumstances, but in the absence of misdirection or other irregularity this argument could not be entertained, unless, it may be assumed, no reasonable Court could have come to any other conclusion than that, in the language of sec. 206 (2) of Act 31 of 1917, 'there are extenuating circumstances' (cf. Rex v Taylor, 1949 (4) SA 702 (AD) at pp. 716 et seq. and R v Mkize, 1953 (2) SA...