01-17-2014, 12:57 PM
(11-21-2013, 03:00 AM)crash Wrote: It's been in the news here today the Pistorius has been charged with two separate gun related offences that occurred before the murder. I'm guessing this is to add weight to the murder case.
If the judge acquits Pistorius of premeditated murder or a lesser charge equivalent to manslaughter, he'll still almost certainly be convicted of one of the gun-related offenses and possibly do a little time, IMO. Fall back.
Hard to believe it's been almost a year since Reeva Steenkamp was shot to death. The trial is scheduled to start in six weeks.
Here's an update on the case from yesterday
The Oscar Pistorius trial will start on March 3, 2014.
The Olympic running star was indicted on charges of premeditated murder and illegal possession of ammunition in August last year. He is accused of shooting his model girlfriend Reeve Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day. HOTD ADD: Oscar Pistorius was also served with new indictment papers in November containing two extra charges believed to allege that he recklessly shot his gun out the open sunroof of a car last year and fired someone else's handgun at a restaurant weeks before he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp through the closed bathroom door thinking a burglar was hiding inside and that his model girlfriend was in bed at the time, but he ended up fatally shooting Steenkamp.
Prosecutors, who allege he killed her after an argument, submitted a list of more than 100 witnesses for the trial.
The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison, meaning if Pistorius is found guilty, he will be older than 50, at least, when he leaves prison. There is no death penalty in South Africa.
A statement, from the office of South Africa’s national police commissioner, said detectives, forensic experts, ballistics experts, psychologists and technology experts all worked on the case and are confident that they have the evidence to convict Pistorius.
The most telling evidence may be in records on cellphones found at Pistorius’ home and through examination of the toilet cubicle door through which Pistorius shot four bullets, hitting Steenkamp three times and killing her. The angle or trajectory of the bullets could show if Pistorius was standing on his stumps when he shot, as he says, or if he was on his prosthetics, as the prosecution maintains—a marked difference in the two accounts.
Full story:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/454617-o...e-summary/