"I am prepared to die": Mandela speaks from the dock

On 20 April 1964, facing a possible death sentence at the Rivonia Trial, Nelson Mandela chose to make a statement from the dock instead of giving evidence. He spoke for about three hours. He ended with the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities, an ideal he hoped to live for and achieve, but, if needs be, an ideal for which he was prepared to die. He and seven others were sentenced to life on 12 June.