09-11-2014, 07:16 AM
VERDICT THUS FAR -- MURDER IS OFF THE TABLE; CULPABLE HOMICIDE AND GUN CHARGES TO BE COVERED AFTER LUNCH BREAK
Shit, this is nail-biting. Judge Masipa has ruled out premeditation and murder. Culpable homicide and the gun charges are still on the table. Court is in lunch recess at the moment.
Here is a synopsis of Masipa's rationale thus far:
- Masipa said Pistorius was a “very poor witness”, but that untruthfulness does not in itself mean an accused is guilty.
- She said it “makes sense” that the screaming heard by neighbours was Pistorius and not Steenkamp. The evidence of neighbours is “fallible” and some – such as that of Michelle Burger and her husband Charl Johnson – should be rejected entirely.
-Masipa accepts the defence timetable that shots were fired at around 3.12am, meaning screams heard after this time could not have been those of the victim. The sounds heard at 3.17am were the cricket bat breaking the door, as the defence maintained.
- But she says that Pistorius’ evidence that if he had wanted to kill the perceived intruder, he would have fired higher is “inconsistent with someone who shot without thinking”.
- Defence claims that police tampered with the scene “pale into insignificance” in the face of other evidence.
-WhatsApp messages between the couple “prove nothing” for either side.
-Evidence from Steenkamp’s stomach contents that she ate later than Pistorius claimed is “inconclusive” and in any case does not help the state’s case.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/20...trial-live
Shit, this is nail-biting. Judge Masipa has ruled out premeditation and murder. Culpable homicide and the gun charges are still on the table. Court is in lunch recess at the moment.
Here is a synopsis of Masipa's rationale thus far:
- Masipa said Pistorius was a “very poor witness”, but that untruthfulness does not in itself mean an accused is guilty.
- She said it “makes sense” that the screaming heard by neighbours was Pistorius and not Steenkamp. The evidence of neighbours is “fallible” and some – such as that of Michelle Burger and her husband Charl Johnson – should be rejected entirely.
-Masipa accepts the defence timetable that shots were fired at around 3.12am, meaning screams heard after this time could not have been those of the victim. The sounds heard at 3.17am were the cricket bat breaking the door, as the defence maintained.
- But she says that Pistorius’ evidence that if he had wanted to kill the perceived intruder, he would have fired higher is “inconsistent with someone who shot without thinking”.
- Defence claims that police tampered with the scene “pale into insignificance” in the face of other evidence.
-WhatsApp messages between the couple “prove nothing” for either side.
-Evidence from Steenkamp’s stomach contents that she ate later than Pistorius claimed is “inconclusive” and in any case does not help the state’s case.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/20...trial-live