04-15-2014, 02:51 PM
CROSS-EXAMINATION OF PISTORIUS ENDS; NEW DEFENSE WITNESS TESTIFIES
15 APRIL 2014
NEL CLOSES CROSS
"Unfortunately I have to put it to you that it's getting more and more improbable," Nel said of the story to Pistorius.
Nel asserted that the couple fought during the night and Steenkamp wanted to leave, then fled to the bathroom screaming before Pistorius shot her through the door with his 9 mm pistol. Pistorius said he never heard Steenkamp scream, or say anything in the minutes before he shot her.
Nel closed his cross-examination by inviting Pistorius to take the blame for shooting Steenkamp, but the runner steered away from a direct response, saying only that he opened fire because he believed his life was under threat. That remark drew barbed follow-up questions from the prosecutor.
"We should blame somebody. ... Should we blame Reeva?" asked Nel, who has harshly criticized Pistorius as someone who is unwilling to take responsibility.
"No, my lady," Pistorius replied, addressing the judge in line with court custom.
"She never told you she was going to the toilet," Nel said. Then he asked: "Should we blame the government?"
When Pistorius responded with another reference to a perceived attacker in his toilet, Nel asked: "Who should we blame for the Black Talon rounds that ripped through her body?"
Nel abandoned his line of questioning soon after the judge questioned whether he was asking the same thing in a different way. Nel summed up by saying Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp.
ROUX'S BRIEF RE-DIRECT
Pistorius remained in the witness box while Roux asked him a series of follow-up questions after the recess, with the lawyer attempting to reinforce the account of a mistaken killing. Roux asked Pistorius to describe his feelings and emotions in the seconds before he shot at the door.
"I was terrified. I feared for my life. I was just scared," Pistorius said. "I was thinking about what could happen to me, to Reeva. I was just extremely fearful."
During cross-examination, Pistorius gave a sometimes muddled account of the shooting, saying he feared for his life but also didn't intentionally shoot at anyone. He also told Roux he didn't consciously pull the trigger on his gun and said it happened "before I could think."
Ref:
http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfiel...-pistorius
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"I mistook her identity, it was an accident, I didn't mean to pull the trigger, I am not to blame..."
Even though I was open-minded about the mistaken identity claim and hoping for solid proof that it couldn't be true (which I don't think the state was able to deliver), there's no way in hell Pistorius didn't intentionally pull that trigger 4 damn times.
So, I have to dismiss all of his claims as bullshit because IMO he's telling all the lies necessary to avoid not only premeditated but also culpable homicide. He is a full-on liar who's only out to save his own ass and avoid taking responsibility for his actions. IMO.
Unfortunately, I think there's a good chance that the judge won't be able to convict him like I've come to do in my mind or like a jury might do -- she will be looking at the evidence presented by each side to support its claims (not much that isn't open to interpretation and/or can be solidly proven or disproved).
IMO, Nel gave it his all and he's good, but the state really didn't prove an alternate scenario. Pistorius conveniently robbed the world of the one witness who could condemn him when he fired the fourth round. If the judge believes it's likely that Pistorius was so vulnerable and weak that he didn't even mean to pull the trigger, culpable homicide is out the door along with premeditation. I hope she doesn't believe that bullshit is even remotely possible given what the prosecution presented regarding Pistorius' aggressive nature and his love of firing guns.
15 APRIL 2014
NEL CLOSES CROSS
"Unfortunately I have to put it to you that it's getting more and more improbable," Nel said of the story to Pistorius.
Nel asserted that the couple fought during the night and Steenkamp wanted to leave, then fled to the bathroom screaming before Pistorius shot her through the door with his 9 mm pistol. Pistorius said he never heard Steenkamp scream, or say anything in the minutes before he shot her.
Nel closed his cross-examination by inviting Pistorius to take the blame for shooting Steenkamp, but the runner steered away from a direct response, saying only that he opened fire because he believed his life was under threat. That remark drew barbed follow-up questions from the prosecutor.
"We should blame somebody. ... Should we blame Reeva?" asked Nel, who has harshly criticized Pistorius as someone who is unwilling to take responsibility.
"No, my lady," Pistorius replied, addressing the judge in line with court custom.
"She never told you she was going to the toilet," Nel said. Then he asked: "Should we blame the government?"
When Pistorius responded with another reference to a perceived attacker in his toilet, Nel asked: "Who should we blame for the Black Talon rounds that ripped through her body?"
Nel abandoned his line of questioning soon after the judge questioned whether he was asking the same thing in a different way. Nel summed up by saying Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp.
ROUX'S BRIEF RE-DIRECT
Pistorius remained in the witness box while Roux asked him a series of follow-up questions after the recess, with the lawyer attempting to reinforce the account of a mistaken killing. Roux asked Pistorius to describe his feelings and emotions in the seconds before he shot at the door.
"I was terrified. I feared for my life. I was just scared," Pistorius said. "I was thinking about what could happen to me, to Reeva. I was just extremely fearful."
During cross-examination, Pistorius gave a sometimes muddled account of the shooting, saying he feared for his life but also didn't intentionally shoot at anyone. He also told Roux he didn't consciously pull the trigger on his gun and said it happened "before I could think."
Ref:
http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfiel...-pistorius
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I mistook her identity, it was an accident, I didn't mean to pull the trigger, I am not to blame..."
Even though I was open-minded about the mistaken identity claim and hoping for solid proof that it couldn't be true (which I don't think the state was able to deliver), there's no way in hell Pistorius didn't intentionally pull that trigger 4 damn times.
So, I have to dismiss all of his claims as bullshit because IMO he's telling all the lies necessary to avoid not only premeditated but also culpable homicide. He is a full-on liar who's only out to save his own ass and avoid taking responsibility for his actions. IMO.
Unfortunately, I think there's a good chance that the judge won't be able to convict him like I've come to do in my mind or like a jury might do -- she will be looking at the evidence presented by each side to support its claims (not much that isn't open to interpretation and/or can be solidly proven or disproved).
IMO, Nel gave it his all and he's good, but the state really didn't prove an alternate scenario. Pistorius conveniently robbed the world of the one witness who could condemn him when he fired the fourth round. If the judge believes it's likely that Pistorius was so vulnerable and weak that he didn't even mean to pull the trigger, culpable homicide is out the door along with premeditation. I hope she doesn't believe that bullshit is even remotely possible given what the prosecution presented regarding Pistorius' aggressive nature and his love of firing guns.