OSCAR PISTORIUS MURDER TRIAL: the blade runner oscar pistorius shoots girlfriend

[HairOfTheDog]

His version of events are not believable to me.

I hope this judge is rational and finds him guilty of murder.

I also hope there aren't any South African forces behind the scenes who would coerce her into rendering a not guilty verdict.

You know, embarrassment for the country that a national hero has become a murderer.

I know what you mean and I've read similar comments at the news sites.

Personally, I cant imagine who in South Africa would actually be "embarrassed" if Pistorius is guilty and convicted, and who would rather see a man that the majority of the country reportedly thinks did it walking or hopping around free. If he is acquitted, I think Pistorius will be in an OJ way -- he's fallen and will never be a national hero again no matter what the verdict.

The South African police have a bad rep -- deservedly or not. Pistorius' defense is attacking the credibility of the police and the prosecution. I think the state and the LE want Pistorius to pay for his alleged crimes and it would be a victory, not an embarrassment, for authorities to secure a conviction.

The justice system in South Africa has a bad rep too, which is one of the reasons cited in the High Court's decision to allow the trial to be televised; they wanted it to be transparent and for people to see how the process works.

Anyway, I don't envy Judge Masipa. Her decision has to be based on the evidence. I think Nel has done a good job with the circumstantial evidence and painting a picture of Pistorius as an arrogant, jealous, hot-headed, gun-loving prick. But, I also think Rioux has done a good job of attacking the physical evidence handling and sowing the possibility that it was Pistorius screaming after gunshots and before beating down the door, rather than Reeva screaming after the first of two sets of gunshots.

If Rioux's succeeded in developing more strategies to put doubt around the screams and "the row" theory during the trial break and Nel hasn't got any more to bolster the state's theory and witness testimony, Masipa's gonna find him guilty of culpable homicide rather than premeditated murder, IMO (and a lot people are gonna scream bias or corruption, no matter how legally-sound the decision and rationale behind it). I don't believe that Pistorius' claim that he didn't "intentionally" pull the trigger makes any sense and all evidence speaks otherwise, so really don't think he's gonna beat the lesser charge if he's not convicted of premeditated murder.

I'm anxious for the trial to resume.