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

[HairOfTheDog]

HOW THE VERDICT AND SENTENCING WILL BE DELIVERED

Guilty or not guilty? The verdict in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial will not be delivered so simply.

Judge Thokozile Masipa will first recount and analyze the evidence given by each of the nearly 40 witnesses in the criminal case that captured considerable international attention. The verdict on whether Pistorius intentionally killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp is expected to take hours, maybe days.

And if there are any convictions on the four charges Pistorius faces — murder and three unrelated firearm charges — sentences will only be decided later at a separate hearing.

Full story: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wire...d-25399220

[Duchess]

Anyone else got a verdict prediction?

No, I don't and while hope usually springs eternal with me I am afraid to have too much of it in this case. I'll feel like a squashed bug when they let him walk free. I wish I had more faith.

[Midwest Spy]

I predict he won't be found guilty of the most serious charge.

I could see him being convicted on firearms charges and serving 6 months to a year, with the rest suspended.

[crash]

Hopefully what usually happens when you predict happens this time too.

[Midwest Spy]

Hopefully what usually happens when you predict happens this time too.

I usually get hot in the Autumn.

I'm right this time.

[Maggot]

I bet manslaughter, suspended sentence. The gun charges will stick though.

[aussiefriend]

I predict he won't be found guilty of the most serious charge.

I could see him being convicted on firearms charges and serving 6 months to a year, with the rest suspended.

thank you from our Mock legal analyst

[HairOfTheDog]

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

[HairOfTheDog]

Court just adjourned for the day. Masipa ended today's session with the following:

-- She finds the debate over where Reeva was located in the bathroom to be irrelevant to the charges.

-- She finds that Pistorius did not take the legally required reasonable actions before choosing to retrieve a loaded weapon and shoot four times through the door at what he believed was an intruder; he could have called security and he could have run to the balcony and screamed as he did after the shooting.

-- She understands that Pistorius grew up in a high-crime area with a paranoid mother who always carried a gun. She basically said, "yeah, welcome to the club." Those explanations by the defense were just that -- explanations; they are not valid excuses.

-- Judge Masipa said that Pistorius did not act reasonably at the perceived threat; he acted negligently. She said a reasonable person, with or without Pistorius' disability, would have taken other action before shooting and would have expected that whomever was behind the door could die from the shots.

That's where she left off when court was adjourned for the day. Judge Masipa did not say, "he is guilty of culpable homicide" directly, but she explained why he she finds that he acted "too hastily", "negligently", and "unreasonably".

Verdict delivery continues tomorrow. It's very nerve-racking to watch/hear the verdict explained and delivered in this manner, but extremely interesting and informative.


P.s. Maggot: if your prediction is correct and he is found guilty of manslaughter/culpable homicide but winds up getting a suspended sentence for that, I hope he gets the max on each gun charge and is sentenced to 15 years.

[HairOfTheDog]

THE VERDICTS



--Guilty of Culpable Homicide (Manslaughter)

--Guilty of Discharging a Firearm in a Public Place (one of the three firearms charges; she acquitted him of the other two)

The judge granted Pistorius bail until his sentencing on Oct. 13^th.

Sentencing Possibilities:
--Up to 15 years for Culpable Homicide
--Up to 5 years for the gun conviction (it could be on top of the homicide sentence or served concurrently)

IMO, Judge Masipa saw a lot of what the defense threw out there as "making sense"; moreso than I did at least. But, the burden of proof was on the prosecution and it was a hard case to try when the only person who could really disprove what Pistorius claims happened is the dead victim.

Really hoping that he gets the 15 year max for culpable homicide, but it's up to the judge and I don't get the sense, based on the rationale she used when explaining her verdicts, that he will get anywhere near 15 years for the homicide or 5 years for the gun conviction. We'll find out in a month.

[HairOfTheDog]

Refs:

Day 1 Verdict, Thurs 11 Sept 2014
(judge delivers rationale for clearing Pistorius of premeditation and murder)




Day 2 Verdict, Fri 12 Sept 2014
(judge delivers the final verdicts for all counts)

[Maggot]

I thought he didn't have a leg to stand on.

[HairOfTheDog]

SENTENCING ON MONDAY

I'm hoping for 15 to 20 years for the culpable homicide and firearm convictions.

But, I really got the sense from her verdict explanations that Judge Masipa believed Pistorius' claim that he thought he was shooting at an intruder (though she essentially acknowledged that he lied about other things).

Hoping Masipa doesn't go very light on the sentencing. If Pistorius gets off with less than 5 years or gets probation, it's won't be any kind of justice for Reeva and will send the wrong message to a lot of other gun-packing hotheads in South Africa, IMO.

[Duchess]

I really got the sense from her verdict explanations that Judge Masipa believed Pistorius' claim that he thought he was shooting at an intruder

I'm so sorry to read that. Now I feel a little hopeless about his sentencing. I want him to pay for what he did to Reeva. I firmly believe he knew it was her in the bathroom.

Sometimes I still think about the Valentines gift she bought him and the pix I saw of it unopened. He hurt her heart all the time and then he shot her dead.

[HairOfTheDog]

The sentencing hearing is underway.

So far, the defense has called a Correctional Officer who testified that since the judge ruled that Pistorius was "negligent" but believed he was shooting at an intruder, Pistorius should get house arrest for 3 years, with a mandate to do 16 hours of community service a month. Prosecutor Nel, of course, was a little perturbed by that recommendation.

Pistorius' coach detailed his charity work. A psychiatric professional testified that Pistorius was a "broken man" as a result of the killing and "truly remorseful".

Outside of the courtroom, the chief of the International Paralympic Committee made a statement -- since Pistorius didn't kill with intent, the paralympic organization for which Pistorius has done so much would welcome him back to competition (assuming he's not in jail).

ETA: The prosecution will present its case and witnesses for a harsher sentence tomorrow, Tuesday.

God, I hope he gets more than a suspended sentence, house arrest, or probation.

[Duchess]

I might bawl if they cut him loose :(

[ramseycat]

It wouldn't surprise he if he got house arrest.

[Duchess]

That's no punishment. I could be very happy under house arrest.

[Duchess]

We may wake up tomorrow to Oscar having been sentenced. Finally, after all these months.

I'm enclosing a link to an interview his brother & sister did today -

Interview

[Duchess]

I rarely see justice meted out any more and this case is no exception. Oscar got 5 years and could be out in 10 months. He isn't even going to pay for discharging his weapon in a public place. I have so little faith any more.

Oscar Pistorius was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for killing Reeva Steenkamp by a South African judge who cited the "gross negligence" the runner showed when he shot his girlfriend multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home.

However, legal experts said the section of law Judge Thokozile Masipa quoted when she announced the double-amputee Olympic athlete's sentence provides for a maximum of five years in prison and Pistorius could be released after 10 months in jail to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

Masipa also sentenced Pistorius to three years in prison for unlawfully firing a gun in a restaurant in a separate incident weeks before Steenkamp's 2013 shooting death. She ordered that sentence to be wholly suspended.

Masipa delivered her ruling after reviewing prosecution arguments for a tough sentence as well as the defense case for a more lenient punishment for Pistorius.

Story