This is the behind-the-scenes story of the 5 men and 1 woman who embodied the tragedy of the law in the service of apartheid. The Six-ordinary, non-political blacks - were sentenced to hang for a murder even the presiding judge acknowledged they did not commit. Their story is told by Prakash Diar, the defence attorney in the case. Through the words and testimony of the participants the author exposes how justice miscarried, favouring state power over individual freedom. The Six were not the last South Africans to be punished by the Courts for crimes they did not commit. Yet, from the moment of their conviction, The Six became the focus of protests around the world. The perversion of justice that allowed - and upheld - their conviction made rational, peaceful change in South African more difficult. As the television cameras of the world rolled, South African authorities released Nelson Mandela and unbanned the organisation that spoke for the majority of black South Africans. Then began the long process of negotiating with the government on behalf of all those who, like The Sharpeville Six, were imprisoned to keep apartheid strong.
