Aborigines call for tribal punishments

The Telegraph reports Aboriginal elders want a return to traditional punishments such as ritual spearing and clubbing. They believe such ‘payback’ sentences are a potent weapon to deal with remote communities blighted by violence, unemployment, alcohol abuse and petrol sniffing. Aborigines are heavily over-represented in Australia\'s prisons; they account for 2% of the country\'s population but make up a fifth of all its prisoners. Judges and magistrates across Australia already give tacit recognition to Aboriginal law by handing down lesser sentences if payback has taken place or is likely to. But human rights groups denounce payback punishments as barbaric. Full report in The Telegraph