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Tag: oscar pistorius trial

  • Oscar Pistorius Sentenced To 5 Years, Though Defense Claims He’ll Only Do A Year. Justice Served?

    Oscar Pistorius’s fate was at last determined by Judge Thokozile Masipa on Tuesday.

    The Paralympian received a suspended three-year sentence for a firearms charge and he was sentenced to five years in prison for the culpable homicide charge.

    “A noncustodial sentence [for Oscar Pistorius] would send the wrong message to the community,” said Masipa. “A long sentence would also not be appropriate because it would lack mercy.”

    She also roundly rejected efforts by the defense to paint Pistorius as far too vulnerable for prison due to his disability.

    Said Masipa, “Yes, the accused is vulnerable, but he also has excellent coping skills. He really saw himself as disabled, [but he] worked hard, and became respected worldwide.”

    Victim Reeva Steenkamp’s parents told the press that they were happy with the sentence and simply relieved that the case was over at long last.

    Arnold Pistorius, Oscar’s uncle said, “We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace the opportunity to pay back to society.”

    The uncle also pleaded with the press and public “accept the ruling of the court” and to grant himself and the rest of Pistorius’s family “some degree of dignity and privacy”.

    Oscar Pistorius reportedly showed little to no reaction as he learned his fate, except for wiping his eyes.

    The 27-year-old was led away as he will begin serving jail time immediately.

    Despite receiving what some would consider a lenient sentence, his defense is convinced that Oscar Pistorius will not do a full five years.

    They expect the athlete to serve as much as a year in prison before being released, with the expectation he’ll serve the rest of his sentence at home.

    The attorney for Reeva Steenkamp’s family echoed this sentiment, saying he expects Oscar to serve no more than two years for fatally shooting his girlfriend.

    Do you think that Oscar Pistorius’s sentence was fair or far too lenient?

  • Oscar Pistorius Will Learn His Fate On Tuesday. Could A Threat To His Life Allow Him To Go Free?

    Will Oscar Pistorius evade prison time or will he be locked away for years?

    Judge Thokozile Masipa will finally provide the long awaited answer to this question on Tuesday.

    It will signal a dramatic end to a situation that has held the attention of South Africa and much of the world since the day 27-year-old Pistorius fatally shot then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

    The athlete did not deny that he was responsible for the 29-year-old’s death. However, what has been a matter of debate was whether or not the victim’s death was intentional.

    The prosecution argued that Oscar Pistorius shot her to death on Valentine’s Day 2013 following an early morning argument.

    Instead, the former Paralympian claimed that he only fired through the bathroom door because he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

    After an intense trial, Masipa ruled that Pistorius was guilty of culpable homicide. This charge meant he would likely avoid life in prison, but it did not rule out the possibility of jail time.

    Prosecutor Gerrie Nel is reportedly pushing for a ten year prison sentence.

    Pistorius’s defense attorneys argue that the athlete’s disability would make him vulnerable in jail.

    Nel countered that the use of Pistorius’s disability to avoid prison is disingenuous.

    “He’s not a victim,” said Nel. “He cannot be a victim. He caused [Steenkamp’s death]. We have victims in this case.”

    Allegedly Pistorius’s life was threatened by a notorious prison gang, a fact that defense attorney Barry Roux brought up in court.

    According to Roux, the 26s gang operates out of the Kgosi Mampuru Prison where Pistorius would be sent. The group is led by a man nicknamed “The General”, who has allegedly stabbed Clive Derby-Lewis and Janusz Walus. These men were jailed for the assassination of Chris Hani.

    Roux claimed that if Pistorius were placed in the same prison as this man and his gang, his life would very likely be at risk.

  • Oscar Pistorius: Will Paying Money To Steenkamp’s Family Help Him Avoid Jail?

    According to a testimony given on Tuesday, Oscar Pistorius has been paying money to the family of Reeva Steenkamp every month.

    It was also revealed that the 27-year-old fully intended to start up a trust fund once the trial is over.

    The surprising information came by way of Annette Vergeer, a probation officer.

    Annette was called to testify on behalf of the defense and said that the 27-year-old began to make the payments shortly after he fatally shot his 29-year-old girlfriend.

    The monthly amount paid to the Steenkamp family is said to be about $530.

    In addition to the claim, Vergeer suggested that Pistorius would not fair well in prison because of his physical disability and that he would be extremely vulnerable.

    She was the second law official called to the stand who testified that Oscar would not fare well in prison.

    Instead, the probation officer suggested that Pistorius receive a far more lenient punishment—three years of house arrest and community service.

    This is a stark contrast to the sentence being pushed for by the prosecution, which intends for him to get a 15-year-sentence. This punishment would represent the maximum time in jail possible under a culpable homicide (manslaughter) conviction.

    Despite Pistorius’s attempt to make amends to the family of his deceased girlfriend, his actions were met with some resistance.

    Vergeer revealed on the stand that Pistorius had sold his car for $34,000, with the intent to use the cash to pay restitution to Reeva’s parents.

    However, June and Barry Steenkamp firmly rejected the cash payment.

    Nel said it was because Reeva’s mother did not want to take what she felt was “blood money”.

    Steenkamp family lawyer Dup de Bruyn stated that the family is in the position to pay Oscar back the $9,500 he gave them. At present the money is used to pay monthly bills and expenses.

    The parents had wanted to announce the payments publicly, but Pistorius requested that they remain confidential.

    And so they were…until now.

    The payments are part of a defense strategy to demonstrate what a caring individual Oscar is, and why he doesn’t belong in jail. It is a tactic that prosecutor Gerrie Nel has already vocally condemned.

    Oscar Pistorius was previously convicted of culpable homicide in the fatal Valentines’ Day shooting of then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

    Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to hear arguments during a week long sentencing phase before making a final decision about Oscar Pistorius’s fate.

  • Oscar Pistorius Is NOT A Victim: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel Balks At Sympathetic Image

    The tear-streaked face of Oscar Pistorius has been a staple in the media since he first fatally shot his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day 2013.

    The man has weeped, wailed, and even vomited in court.

    However prosecutor Gerrie Nel has largely remained unmoved by Pistorius’s “antics” throughout the murder trial.

    When Oscar Pistorius was placed on the stand, he grilled the 27-year-old mercilessly about his behavior and the truth behind Steenkamp’s death.

    Though Oscar has been relentless in his insistence that shooting his then girlfriend was an accident, the prosecution believes that the 29-year-old was killed following an argument.

    Witnesses testified to hearing gunshots and a woman’s screams. Pistorius claimed that it was his own desperate screams that his neighbors heard in the early morning hours.

    Judge Thokozile Masipa listened carefully to both sides and in September decided that Oscar Pistorius was not guilty of murder. Instead, she ruled he was guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter.

    Some felt that the man known as “Blade Runner” had successfully passed off a remorseful image that made himself out to be the victim of the events that left his girlfriend dead.

    And it is this sympathetic image of the athlete that has apparently greatly angered prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

    In response to claims that convicted athlete has suffered enough and shouldn’t go to prison, Nel said that Pistorius was “still alive” while Steenkamp wasn’t. This is a fact that the prosecutor felt should not be forgotten.

    On the second day of the sentencing trial phase, Nel attacked the defense’s choice to use of Pistorius’s charity work to show him as a caring and compassionate human being.

    According to the prosecution, these efforts were about his career and nothing more.

    There has also been a great deal of criticism of the suggestion that Pistorius be sentenced to house arrest and community service.

    To shoot a woman four times, even if unintentionally, and only receive a slap on the wrist is a concept that is beyond baffling to Nel.

    Instead, the prosecution is aiming to get Oscar Pistorius sentenced to the maximum under a culpable homicide conviction—15 years in prison.

    The defense has argued that jail would be a terrible choice for Oscar, and that his psychological state would greatly deteriorate. They also described him as a “broken man”.

    Do you think Oscar Pistorius should be sent to jail or given probation while undergoing psychological treatment?

  • Reeva Steenkamp’s Family Expresses Disbelief over Oscar Pistorius Verdict

    The family of model Reeva Steenkamp is outraged that a South African judge did not find Oscar Pistorius guilty of murdering their daughter.

    “Justice was not served,” the family told NBC News on Friday.

    Pistorius was released on bail Friday after he was convicted of culpable homicide rather than murder. The double-amputee track star is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

    The 27-year-old has never denied shooting through the bathroom door of their house in South Africa on that fateful Valentine’s Day last year, killing his 29-year-old girlfriend, Steenkamp. He has always maintained that he believed there was an intruder in the house.

    “This verdict is not justice for Reeva,” June Steenkamp told NBC News. “”I just don’t feel like this is the right sentence … they believe his story, and I don’t believe that story … I just want the truth.”

    Reeva’s mother believes her daughter died a “horrible, painful, terrible” death and deserves far more than the verdict he received.

    “He shot through the door and I can’t believe that they believe it was an accident,” she said.

    The charge of culpable homicide, which is similar to negligent homicide in the United States, carries a minimum prison sentence of five years. However, Pistorius could be sentenced to house arrest and receive no jail time.

    The Steenkamps told NBC News that, at this point, they don’t care what happens to Pistorius during the sentencing phase of the trial.

    “I really don’t care what happens to Oscar,” June Steenkamp said. “It’s not going to change anything because my daughter is never coming back. He’s still living and breathing and she’s gone, you know, forever.”

    Pistorius’ uncle also spoke out after the verdict, saying the family was relieved that he was convicted of a lesser charge, but that there were “no victors.”

    “It won’t bring Reeva back, but our hearts still go out for her family and friends,” he said.

  • Oscar Pistorius Trial Nearing Conclusion: What Happens Next?

    The Oscar Pistorius murder trial has been packed with drama and shocking revelations from the very beginning.

    With the final witness called to testify for the defense, it’s expected that the trial is not far away from its highly anticipated conclusion.

    The defense will be calling yet another medical expert to testify, following the testimony on Wednesday by physician Wayne Derman. Derman’s turn on the stand was heavily criticized by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

    Nel argued that Derman’s relationship and familiarity with Pistorius made it impossible for the man to offer an unbiased testimony. Derman had testified that Pistorius’s life-long disability made him highly anxious by nature.

    The physician said that despite his relationship with Pistorius he could provide information objectively.

    Defense attorney Barry Roux has said he should be able to wrap up defense testimony by Tuesday. It’s expected that a break will follow, after which the prosecution and defense will make their final arguments.

    The closing remarks may turn out to be the most crucial moment of the trial for both the prosecution and defense. It is the last opportunity for both sides to firmly state their cases to Judge Thokozile Masipa, who is solely responsible for determining the 27-year-old defendant’s fate.

    Pistorius is on trial for fatally shooting former girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.

    Pistorius fired four shots through a bathroom door, allegedly because he believed an intruder had broken into his home and his life was in danger. Instead he’d killed Steenkamp, who he maintains that he somehow mistook for an intruder.

    The prosecution has presented a case that suggests that Pistorius killed Steenkamp following an argument in the early morning hours. Several witnesses claimed to have heard the screams of a woman between gunshots.

    The defense has countered that it was Pistorius himself that witnesses heard.

    Once both sides make the final arguments regarding their narrative as to what occurred that day, Masipa could find Pistorius not guilty or she may send him to jail.

    The athlete faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Evaluation Might Be What Defense Needs

    Oscar Pistorius underwent a psychiatric evaluation recently, and according to his doctors, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is severely depressed. But he was also likely in a heightened state of fear when he shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day last year, rather than a state of rage.

    The evaluation could be a blow to prosecution, as they have been trying to paint Pistorius as a volatile boyfriend with a knowledge of weapons. However, Pistorius–who is a double amputee–has a history of anxiety, especially concerning his own safety, and reportedly kept weapons in his South African home out of fear of a break-in. That anxiety is not uncommon in those with disabilities, a study found, especially in athletes.

    “When Mr. Pistorius’s appraisal of the situation is that he might be physically threatened, a fear response follows that might seem extraordinary when viewed from the perspective of a normal bodied person, but normal in the context of a disabled person with his history,” the report said. “No evidence could be found to indicate that Mr. Pistorius has a history of abnormal aggression or explosive violence. Abnormal aggression and violence was never incorporated in his personality… He does not display the personality characteristics of narcissism… that are mostly associated with men in abusive relationships and have been linked to rage-type murders in intimate relationships.”

    Pistorius has maintained his story from the beginning of the trial, saying he awoke in the middle of the night to sounds coming from the bathroom off his bedroom. Steenkamp had stayed over that night, but the room was dark and he didn’t check to make sure she was in bed. Instead, he grabbed his gun and fired four shots through the closed bathroom door, thinking an intruder was in his home. Over the course of the trial, Pistorius has broken down on several occasions and was even physically ill after being shown photos of the crime scene and of Steenkamp. The psychiatrists who evaluated the Olympian say he will need to attend counseling for quite a while, and that a break in therapy might lead to suicide.

    “Mr. Pistorius is being treated and should continue to receive clinical care by a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist for his current condition. Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risk for suicide,” the report said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Oscar Pistorius’s Defense Insists He Screams “Like A Woman”

    Now that Oscar Pistorius’s mental health results are in, it’s clear that whatever happened in the early hours of February 14th, 2014, the 27-year-old had his faculties about him.

    After a 30-day evaluation by a panel of mental health experts, it was determined that Pistorius does not suffer from any mental disorder whatsoever. On the night he fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, he was capable of telling right from wrong.

    Though both the defense and prosecution accepted the panel’s findings, it must have been a serious blow to the hopes of Pistorius’s attorneys.

    Had the panel found Pistorius to possess a mental disorder that could have interfered with his decision-making, the case would likely have ended immediately with Pistorius found not guilty.

    After the beating that Pistorius’s story took during cross-examination by chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, the defendant’s lawyers have desperately sought a reprieve for their client.

    With a mental health defense out of the question, Pistorius’s team is now attacking the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case: Reeva Steenkamp’s dying screams, which several neighbors testified that they heard around the time she was killed.

    The screams were used by prosecutors to suggest that what witnesses heard were the screams of a woman in fear of her life who was purposely gunned down by her boyfriend.

    The defense is trying to counter by saying that what witnesses heard that day was NOT the defendant’s 29-year-old girlfriend…but Pistorius himself.

    His defense called acoustics Ivan Lin to the stand, where he testified that ambient noises make it difficult to accurately identify sounds over a long distance.

    Nel insisted that the witnesses were certain that it was a woman’s screams they heard and that a woman’s screams have a more “tonal character”.

    Lin answered that he could not say for certain whether Pistorius’s neighbors were “correct or incorrect”.

    As bizarre as an argument it is to make, time is running out for the defense to convincingly prove their case.

    Failure means that Pistorius could be sent to jail for decades.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius Trial: The Story Thus Far

    The Reeva Steenkamp murder trial will resume on Monday. Defendant Oscar Pistorius is on trial for fatally shooting her.

    If you haven’t followed the trial at all or need a refresher then pay close attention.

    These are the must-know facts about the case that you probably missed.

    Oscar Pistorius Definitely Shot Reeva Steenkamp

    Though constantly compared to the O.J. Simpson trial in terms of media sensation and scandal, Simpson claimed to have not committed the violent offense that he was charged with.

    This case is completely different; we know that Pistorius fatally shot 29-year-old Steenkamp. The harrowing incident occurred in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.

    The question is whether or not it was an intentional killing.

    Pistorius Claims To Have Acted In Self-Defense

    The 27-year old former Olympian claimed to have been on his stumps at the time of the incident. He also said that he was certain that an intruder had broken into his home.

    Feeling vulnerable and in immediate danger, Pistorius said that he opened fire on what he believed to be an intruder in order to protect himself. The defendant said that he didn’t realize what he’d done until it was too late.

    Prosecution Claims It Was Intentional

    Pistorius’s defense was strongly contested by prosecutors determined to out him as an emotionally manipulative murderer.

    Witness testimony for the prosecution paints Pistorius as an impulsive and irresponsible gun owner with a hair-trigger temper. Neighbors also testified to hearing a woman’s screams during the shooting.

    It is their intention to demonstrate that Pistorius absolutely meant to kill Steenkamp and is now desperate to avoid punishment.

    Is It A Mental Health Issue?

    The trial was halted for a period of about 30 days so that Oscar Pistorius could undergo a mental health evaluation.

    His defense team wanted to demonstrate the Pistorius suffered from an anxiety disorder that affected his mental state during the incident as well as the trial.

    Judge Thokozile Masipa decided that the question of the defendant’s mental state was an important one to answer.

    Following a 30 day evaluation at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa, a panel of mental health experts will share their findings as to Pistorius’s mental health.

    The results of the month long evaluation could have huge repercussions for Pistorius and shape the trial’s outcome.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Could Psych Exam Clear Him Of Murder?

    A month has passed since Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered defendant Oscar Pistorius to undergo a mental health evaluation. The findings are expected to have a major impact on the outcome of the Reeva Steenkamp murder trial.

    The 27-year-old is on trial for fatally shooting Steenkamp, his 29-year-old girlfriend, in the early hours of February 14th, 2013.

    Pistorius claimed that he was not aware that it was Steenkamp he opened fire on and that he was certain his girlfriend was still in their bedroom. Pistorius’s defense is that the event was a terrible accident.

    However, prosecutors are working to prove that Steenkamp was deliberately murdered by Pistorius following an argument.

    According to witness testimony, a woman’s screams were heard amid gunfire, undermining the claim that Pistorius had no idea he had opened fire on his girlfriend.

    After a disastrous turn on the stand, Pistorius’s defense team has moved to emphasize their client’s mental health state in an effort both excuse his killing of Steenkamp and his behavior throughout the trial.

    This defense spurred Masipa to order Pistorius to undergo a 30 day mental health evaluation.

    Pistorius was evaluated at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa.

    A panel made up of a psychologist and three psychiatrists assessed the athlete during that time period and are expected to share their findings when the trial resumes Monday.

    Pistorius’s defense claims that he suffers from an anxiety disorder. This disorder supposedly causes him to be extraordinarily paranoid about his safety and obsessed with protecting himself.

    Depending on what the panel has decided, Pistorius could find himself cleared of the murder charge. It could also seal his fate. There’s also a possibility that the findings have a direct impact on sentencing, should Pistorius be found guilty.

    If Pistorius is convicted of Steenkamp’s murder, he faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius Undergoes Mental Health Tests

    Oscar Pistorius was ordered last week by Judge Thokozile Masipa to undergo a month-long series of mental health tests.

    The 30 day evaluation, which begins today, may at last offer a look at just what’s going on inside the mind of the man who shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp over a year ago.

    Throughout the trial, Pistorius has been visibly disturbed by the process and evidence presented against him.

    While some believe it to be a genuine display of anxiety and regret, the prosecution is not convinced. Lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel at one point accused Pistorius of fraudulent emotional behavior.

    He was also accused of making an inappropriate remark in court by a friend of Steenkamp’s.

    With his defense desperate to turn around the negative perception of Pistorius and convince the judge of his innocence, his legal team worked overtime to use his possible mental state as proof of his innocence.

    Pistorius has long claimed that fatally shooting his girlfriend Steenkamp on February 14th, 2013 was a terrible accident.

    He’s on trial for murder as the prosecution believes that Steenkamp was killed following a terrible argument with Pistorius.

    Should Pistorius be found guilty, he will be sent to prison for decades.

    A forensic psychiatrist testifying for the defense claimed that Pistorius suffered from an anxiety disorder.

    Allegedly this led to his hyper paranoia, which could explain what led to his allegedly accidental shooting of Steenkamp. The condition would also explain his behaviors throughout the trial.

    The testimony prompted Masipa to send Pistorius for a mental evaluation.

    The evaluation is meant to determine whether or not the 27-year-old indeed possesses any mental health issues that could have influenced his criminal responsibility.

    The defendant’s car drove through a crowd of media cameras and reporters to get into Pretoria’s Weskoppies Hospital.

    An army of guards kept members of the press at bay.

    At the end of the mental exam could be an outcome that hints at Pistorius’s ultimate fate.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius’ Neighbor Testifies Shooting Was An Accident

    Oscar Pistorius has endured a lengthy, difficult trial for the past several weeks, and after a two-week recess, proceedings began again on Monday with a neighbor testifying that the deadly shooting which took Pistorius’ girlfriend’s life was an accident.

    Pistorius hasn’t wavered from his original story since the shooting on Valentine’s Day of 2013, when he fired a gun four times through the closed bathroom door in his home, thinking an intruder was inside. It was the middle of the night, he said, and when he heard noises inside he didn’t check to see if his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, was still in bed. The Paralympic athlete says he has owned a gun for years, concerned for his safety in the high-crime area of South Africa where he makes his home.

    “I spoke to him at his house and when we went upstairs to his bedroom so that our photographer could take photos of his running blades, that was when I saw the weapons,” said writer Jonathan McEvoy of a 2011 visit to Pistorius’ home. “There was the pistol by the bed, the machine gun up against the wall, the baseball bat under the window, a cricket bat too. He was concerned by safety and security to a high level, there was no doubt about that.”

    Pistorius–also known as “Blade Runner” due to his high-tech prosthetics–has broken down several times in court during cross-examination, particularly when shown photos from the crime scene. According to neighbor Johan Stander, Pistorius was horrified when he placed a call right after the shootings, asking Stander to come help him.

    “He (Pistorius) said on the call, ‘Johan, please, please, please come to my house. Please. I shot Reeva,”‘ Stander said in court. “‘I thought she was in an intruder. Please come quick.’ It’s not something I would like to experience again, my lady. Because that young man walking down the stairs with the lady, with a young woman. His face. The expression of pain, the expression of sorrow. And he’s crying.”

    Judge Thokozile Masipa will reportedly go through thousands of pages of testimony and evidence before reaching a final decision.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Oscar Pistorius Testimony Deemed A Fatal Error

    Even though millions were anticipating the testimony of Oscar Pistorius, the 27-year-old was in truth not obligated to take the stand.

    He could have simply sat and allowed his defense team to do their best to clear him of the charge premeditated murder.

    For all the comparisons made to the O.J. Simpson trial of the 1990s, it is here where the two media spectacles differ sharply.

    One athlete listened to the advice of his attorneys and avoided the stand like the plague. The other athlete decided it was the best way to demonstrate his sincerity.

    Many observers feel the decision by Simpson to not testify was a major contributing factor as to why he was eventually acquitted.

    After Pistorius’s tear-soaked display on the stand, some are already deeming it the nail in his defensive coffin.

    Pistorius’s every move was already the subject of numerous articles prior to his testimony.

    The athlete caused a stir every time he acted out. He often covered his ears and bowed his head. At one point the trial was briefly halted because Pistorius was violently ill.

    With such outbursts already the standard, it was not too surprising to see the athlete break down in sobs throughout his testimony.

    It could be seen as the extreme opposite of what occurs when killers sit in court accused of a vicious crime and show no emotion and no remorse. Perhaps therein lies the problem.

    Though Pistorius has never been accused of domestic violence, his excessive emotional display has alarmed some domestic violence experts. According to researchers, an exaggerated display of emotion following a violent event in an effort to garner sympathy and forgiveness is typical of controlling abusers.

    “If they were robots, nobody would date them or be with them,” said Cindy Southworth. Southworth, Vice President at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, spoke about the startling similarities between Pistorius’s emotional outbursts and the behaviors of domestic abusers.

    She said that though these persons can demonstrate a range of human emotions, “research shows they’re always in control.”

    The possibility that the athlete is merely engaging in calculated emotional manipulation is not lost on the prosecution.

    Pistorius’s behavior throughout this trial has led Chief Prosecutor Gerrie Nel to suggest that his outbursts were in fact staged.

    Nel also implied that the tears were meant to cover up the numerous inconsistencies in Pistorius’s testimony.

    When Pistorius finally left the stand it was clear to some South African lawyers that he’d perhaps done more harm than good.

    Martin Hood, a Johannesburg-based criminal lawyer, said that the former Olympian’s testimony “went downhill the moment he took the stand”.

    Hood pointed out that Pistorius emphasized that he went into a highly dangerous situation in a tactical manner. According to Hood this meant that “all of [Pistorius’s] decisions were conscious, intentional decisions.”

    The lawyer also said it didn’t reflect well on the athlete that he refused to accept responsibility for firing a loaded weapon in public.

    It’s possible that the very words spoken by Pistorius in court could end up being his undoing when the trial ends.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius Trial: Cross-Examiniation Ends

    After five grueling days, the cross-examination of suspect Oscar Pistorius came to an end on Tuesday.

    Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor in the high profile case, said that he had no further questions for the 27-year-old former Olympian.

    Nel seems satisfied with his questioning and what he managed to convey to the court and judge.

    Pistorius was not obligated to take the stand, but he did so. It is possible that he hoped that a testimony about his version of events would somehow act to counter what had been presented by the prosecution during the first half of the trial.

    Pistorius had confessed to the fatal shooting of Steenkamp on February 13th, 2013. According to the athlete the entire thing had been a terrible accident rather than premeditated murder.

    Pistorius said that he thought there was an intruder in bathroom of their home and that his life was in danger. He said that he was terrified because he was without his prosthetic legs and unable to physically protect himself.

    It was fear that made him fire at a stranger, not anger that made him fire at his girlfriend.

    Pistorius said tearfully that he fired four times through the bathroom door. A short while later he realized it had been Steenkamp.

    Prosecutors painted a markedly different picture of that day’s tragic events through physical evidence and witness testimony. They argued that the athelete intentionally murdered Steenkamp after a vicious argument.

    Neighbors claimed that on the morning of the murder, a woman’s screams were heard. The screaming was soon silenced by gunfire.

    Eye witness testimonies and expert testimonies about the shooting and evidence were all used to draw one simple conclusion: Oscar Pistorius is a liar who killed his 29-year-old girlfriend intentionally.

    Nel would go at Pistorius during five days of cross-examination in an effort to drive this point home. He brought up the inconsistencies in Pistorius’s testimony.

    He also accused Pistorius of a selfish and insincere emotional display meant to foster sympathy for himself at the expense of the victim’s surviving family.

    Following his intense session on the stand, Pistorius’s defense team must work hard to explain why his testimony deviated from his original statements and flowed more closely with the prosecution’s evidence.

    Pistorius faces 25 years if Judge Thokozile Masipa determines that his actions were an act of premeditated murder.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius Faces Day Two of Cross-Examination

    Oscar Pistorius faced a second day of cross-examination in his murder trial on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.

    The prosecution accused Pistorius of caring more about himself than the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The 27-year-old was brought to tears on Wednesday during the first day of cross-examination, when he refused to look at a picture of his slain girlfriend while he sat on the witness stand.

    ‘I don’t have to look at a picture. I was there,” Pistorius said.

    ”It’s time that you look at it,” chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel said during on Wednesday, and told Pistorius to ”take responsibility” for killing Steenkamp.

    Nel continued to tear into Pistorius during questioning.

    “It’s all about ‘I’. It’s all about Mr Pistorius,” Nel said as he read cell phone messages in which Steenkamp said she was upset and afraid of Pistorius’s behavior.

    “In an attempt to evaluate your relationship, we rely on what you say, it was the other person in this relationship that was killed by you,” Nel said.

    The double-amputee Paralympian sprinter is charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp, who was shot on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The 29-year-old South African model and law school graduate was hit three times – in the head, arm, and hip – while behind a locked toilet door. Pistorius said he shot Steenkamp by mistake, and that he thought she was an intruder.

    ”I will not look at a picture where I’m tormented by what I saw and felt that night,” Pistorius said Wednesday.

    ”As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I remember. I don’t have to look at a picture. I was there.,” he said.

    When Nel asked Pistorius if he lived according to the principles of Christian faith, the athlete responded, “I’m here to tell the truth, I’m here to tell the truth as much as I can remember.”

    Pistorius faces a up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder of Steenkamp.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Oscar Pistorius: Changing His Story To Avoid Jail?

    Oscar Pistorius has been extremely emotional throughout his high profile murder trial. At one point the 27-year-old athlete vomited during expert testimony.

    Now himself on the stand, Pistorius is trying to convey his version of what occurred on February 14th, 2013.

    He claimed that after he discovered the body of 29-year-old Steenkamp, he “sat over [her] and cried”. Pistorius testified that he didn’t “know how long he was” there crying over his girlfriend. Shortly after saying this, he broke down on the stand.

    At the request of defense attorney Barry Roux, proceedings were ended a half hour early.

    Earlier, Pistorius had been asked to remove his prosthetic legs in front of the door through which bullets had been fired on the day of Steenkamp’s shooting. Pistorius had claimed that he was on his stumps and had carefully made his way through his house without the aid of prosthetics.

    During another portion of his testimony, Pistorius said that he went back to the bedroom for his gun. He also stated that he requested Steenkamp, “get down and phone the police”. This was an important detail that was not featured in previous statements by Pistorius, one that suggested a strong deviation from such behavior in the past.

    In fact there were a few intricate details that appeared in Pistorius’s testimony that were not previously addressed by him. For instance, the delay in approaching the bathroom and having heard a door slam.

    His testimony also suggested that it had been him shouting and screaming for help that morning. Neighbors claim that they heard a woman’s screams along with gunshots.

    It is curious that Pistorius’s testimony now more closely echoes the narrative set by defense attorneys as to the events of that day than his own original story.

    How is it that these various points were missing from the original statements and only addressed after a great deal of testimony for the prosecution? It is no doubt something that will be addressed in minute detail during careful cross-examination by the prosecution.

    It would be surprising if the prosecutors did not point out the discrepancies and raise the possibility that Pistorius is now lying in a desperate attempt to avoid jail.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Witness Heard Shots And Screams

    Yet another witness has come forward in the Oscar Pistorius case to declare that she distinctly remembers gunfire and a woman’s screams.

    Anette Stipp, a neighbor of Pistorius, testified that on the morning of Reeva Steenkamp’s murder she heard a gun shot, a woman’s screams, and then three more shots.

    Pistorius has maintained as part of his defense that he fired through his bathroom door at Steenkamp because he mistook her for an intruder. He says that her death was entirely accidental.

    The prosecution has not bought Pistorius’s version of events from the onset. Throughout the case, prosecutors have sought to demonstrate Pistorius’s obsession with guns, his reckless behavior around weapons, and his hair-trigger temper.

    The witness testimony of those called by prosecutors paints a picture of a man who knowingly gunned down his then girlfriend in cold blood, their words severely undermining any notion that Steenkamp’s death was unintentional.

    The angles aggressively taken by Pistorius’s attorneys to counter these efforts has been to suggest incompetence by law enforcement in how evidence was handled and to try and dictate to witnesses what they really heard on the morning of the murder.

    Kenny Oldwadge, one of Pistorius’s lawyers, had tried to get Stipp to admit that what she actually heard could have been Pistorius crying and not the screams of his girlfriend.

    The defense also tried to insist that what Stipp heard at the time of Steenkamp’s death was the sound of Pistorius’s cricket bat hitting the bathroom door rather than gunshots.

    “It was not crying,” Stipp countered, “It was screaming, high pitched screaming. It’s not just the pitch; [the] whole voice was definitely female.” She also maintained that she was sure she’d heard gunfire both before and after the screams of a woman.

    Pistorius’s defense has been trying to assert that he was the one screaming or crying that morning because he was afraid for his life.

    However Stipp and previous witness testimony mentioned hearing a woman’s screams and gunfire.

    The corroboration is damning, making it especially difficult for the defense to successfully paint the Olympic athlete as a terrified and helpless disabled man.

    The prosecution in the Oscar Pistorius case is set to rest. The trial is anticipated to continue for another week before Judge Thokozile Masipa makes her decision as to whether or not Pistorius will be headed to jail.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Textbook Paranoid Gun Owner?

    The case against Oscar Pistorius continued today as his defense attorney tried his best to throw doubt on the professionalism of law enforcement and validity of the evidence against his client.

    Barry Roux’s cross-examination of police photographer Barend Van Staden went on for much of Tuesday. During the cross-examination, Roux tried to insist that the items photographed had been tampered with or moved around, making the re-construction of the murder scene questionable.

    This move to undermine the evidence is the only realistic counter-attack available to Roux whose client Pistorius has been held up as the standard of the textbook paranoid gun owner by the prosecution.

    It is an image that could actually validate Pistorius’s version of events and convince Judge Thokozile Masipa that the Olympic athlete genuinely believed his life to be in danger. It could also help him avoid a lengthy prison term.

    Pistorius’s behavior could also be taken as a sign that certain individuals should simply not be gun owners.

    Early testimony from two men who knew Pistorius recalled that after being handed a weapon, he irresponsibly fired it in public.

    It remains puzzling why Pistorius behaved in such a way.

    He was instructed that the weapon was loaded. Why would a person who is supposed to know much about guns take the risk of firing it? Accidents do happen, but then it was not the only incident.

    Ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor testified that Pistorius had fired a bullet into the sunroof of the car he was driving after being pulled over by police. What if the bullet had ricocheted and hit someone in the car?

    Finally, some testimony referred to his inexplicable obsession with being followed or of someone getting into his home to harm him. He was even planning to stockpile weapons prior to the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

    Looking at Pistorius’s behavior leading up to the death of his girlfriend, whether or not it was intentional, it is hard to look at his behavior as a gun owner as remotely ethical. It seems that something like this, based on his behavior, may have been sadly inevitable.

    Perhaps the biggest lesson to be taken from the Pistorius trial is that South Africa should work harder on gun control laws. For instance, those seeking a permit should submit to a mental examination prior to being granted the ability to own guns.

    Do you think the Oscar Pistorius case is a sign that stricter gun laws are needed in South Africa? Comment below!

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Media, Internet Influencing Trial?

    The case against Oscar Pistorius is thought to be the most covered trial in recent history. It has been compared many times to the spectacle of the OJ Simpson trial of the 1990s. Given the emerging role of the internet in communicating global events, it may perhaps be even more covered and talked about.

    This could be causing a major problem for the Pistorius defense, which is now claiming that the heavy presence of the media and internet-shared facts about the trial is in fact interfering with the case.

    Defense attorney Barry Roux has repeatedly tried to discredit witness testimony over this fact. Roux has suggested that instead of using their own knowledge on the stand, witnesses were “linking” testimony based on what was shared via the media.

    Roux was especially critical of the testimony of Pistorius’ friend Darren Fresco.

    During the third day of trial testimony, boxer Kevin Lerena had testified that Pistorius fired a gun belonging to a friend under the table at a restaurant a month before killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

    Lerena explained the nature of the event in detail, stating that Fresco passed a gun to Pistorius, letting the athlete know the gun was loaded. Then, according to Lerena’s original testimony, Pistorius fired the gun. The bullet is alleged to have hit the floor near boxer’s foot, causing mild bleeding and a non-painful injury. Pistorius subsequently asked Fresco to take the blame for his having fired in a public place.

    Fresco himself testified roughly a week later, and his testimony strongly echoed that of Lerena. It also had details similar to the testimony of ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor, according to events he himself was present for or apparently aware of.

    Roux attacked Fresco’s testimony, saying that he did not remember the events himself as they occurred. The Pistorius defense lawyer suggested that instead, Fresco was constructing his testimony to match statements that were now public knowledge thanks to media coverage and social media sites like Twitter.

    Fresco did admit that he’d heard aspects of the trial via the media.

    Said Fresco of the trial’s massive exposure, “It doesn’t matter what you do, where you go, it’s all over the news, it’s all over the radio.”

    Does Pistorius’s defense attorney have a point: Is the heavy media coverage making a fair trial impossible? Comment below!

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Why Didn’t He Wake Girlfriend?

    Oscar Pistorius: Why Didn’t He Wake Girlfriend?

    Before the trial even began, everyone knew Oscar Pistorius’s side of the story: He was a man in fear of his life.

    The athlete known as “Blade Runner” could not get way from the paranoid belief that his life was in danger, saying that he was convinced an intruder had somehow gotten into his home.

    The 27-year-old found himself headed to the bathroom with his gun and preparing for the worst. Pistorius fired multiple times through the bathroom door, hitting what he thought was a dangerous home invader.

    It was only after the fact that he realized there was no intruder, and the person he’d fatally shot was in fact his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

    The death of 29-year-old Steenkamp by this account was not an act of cold blooded murder, but instead a tragic and entirely unintended accident.

    While this may seem a plausible enough defense, the prosecution has produced an indirect challenge to this supposed series of events in the form of a testimony by Pistorius’s ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor.

    Taylor testified on Friday that the two of them broke up after he cheated on her with the deceased Steenkamp.

    More importantly, Taylor testified that Pistorius would awaken her whenever he feared that someone was trying to break in.

    She shared one incident where Pistorius had supposedly heard someone banging against the bathroom window. Taylor testified that he had woken her up to ask if she heard the noise as well. She said that he took a gun to the bathroom to check things out.

    Whenever there was such a situation as far as Taylor knew, Pistorius would wake her up.

    This raises a very interesting question: Why did Pistorius deviate from this apparent pattern of behavior with Steenkamp?

    Pistorius claimed that he understood Steenkamp to be in bed sleeping, which is what led to him mistaking her for the intruder.

    With others testifying to hearing gunshots, screams, and physical evidence to come, one may be tempted to overlook this bit of testimony. This despite it being perhaps one of the more revealing aspects of the Oscar Pistorius trial thus far.

    Image via YouTube

  • Oscar Pistorius: Damning Testimonies On Fifth Day

    The prosecution in the ongoing Oscar Pistorius case have approached the matter with a clear game plan. First, they attack Oscar Pistorius’s account of the even that resulted in then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp’s death.

    This is then followed with damaging character testimony that paints Pistorius in the worst possible light.

    The 27-year-old has long claimed that he fired through his bathroom door at what he thought was a dangerous intruder and that he understood his model girlfriend was in bed. He claims he did not know it was her that he shot until after he discovered her body.

    However, prosecutors are working hard to demonstrate the exact opposite occurred; they believe it was Steenkamp fleeing for her life and that she was gunned down by Pistorius entirely on purpose.

    A major blow to Pistorius’s version of events came in the form of witnesses testifying to having heard shots and in at least one case, screaming. His security guard, Pieter Baba, claimed to have heard gunshots in the early hours of February 14th in 2013. He testified that when he phoned Pistorius to find out what had happened, Pistorius apparently told him, “Security, everything is fine.”

    Pistorius did phone back to tell him that he had shot his girlfriend and that she was dead. However the guard felt that the phone conversations were bizarrely contradictory.

    An ex-girlfriend testified that their relationship ended due to his cheating on her with the victim. Samantha Taylor said that when they were together he was always with a weapon. She testified to instances of him losing his temper, such as firing a bullet into their car’s sunroof after being stopped by the police and waving a gun at a person in car he thought was following them.

    The combination of witness testimony that strongly undermines Pistorius’s version of events and character testimony regarding his bad temper and irresponsible use of guns have rounded out the first week of the trial.

    It is important to remember that Pistorius’s fate rests in the hands of a single person—Judge Thokozile Masipa.

    Whether or not Pistorius will be headed to jail depends on whether or not the prosecution can provide enough evidence to prove their case. Do you think the prosecution is relying too strongly on character testimony more so than actual evidence? Comment below!

    Image via YouTube