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

[HairOfTheDog]

OSCAR PISTORIUS TESTIMONY - CONT'D

After telling his version of events, Roux asked for an adjournment so Pistorius could change out of his suit, allowing Pistorius to show how short he is without his prostheses on.

The detail is important to his defense because he has said he feels very vulnerable without them on. (Only those in the courtroom can see Pistorius because he has chosen not to testify on camera. His testimony could be heard on an audio feed.)

Roux also introduced a slew of affectionate text and electronic messages which Pistorius read to the court. Pistorius was weeping and court was adjourned early today because he was too emotional to continue.

He'll be back on the stand tomorrow.

REFERENCE - TRIAL VIDEO - 08 APRIL 2014, 4 PARTS


[video=youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_pEYo2Qjxc[/video]

[crash]

I listened to the audio last night where he apologised to the parents and gave his woeful tale of how hard it was for him. To me, it sounded incredibly fake and heavily fabricated. His emotion and tears seemed forced. I really dislike that man.

[Duchess]

He told Reeva's Mom that Reeva went to bed feeling loved. How dare he. I'm unreasonably irked by that.

[Midwest Spy]

He's just another 'entitled' prick of an athlete.

They get whatever they want, whenever they want, and answer to nobody.

It'd be nice to see him hooked up to an electric chair and watch him piss his pants.

[Duchess]

They won't put him to death. I'm not even confident he'll be found guilty.

[crash]

In my line of work, I have come across a lot of South African expats, given mining is so big in their country. Some of the stories they tell about the shooting of burglars and intruders border on sadistic. I've heard some even boast of almost plain black and white murder i.e. The intruder had surrendered and was unarmed but was shot anyway because they didn't trust the justice system to deal with it adequately. Ironic, I know..

Of course I often wondered if this was some sick form of 'I'm so tough, don't fuck with me' type of boasting, but some if those guys seemed pretty convincing and genuine. In the same stories they speak of how fucked up the South African justice system is, and how easy it is to get away with that kind of thing.

Usually those guys were talking about white on black shootings, and trust me, they are some of the most racist motherfuckers I've met. And I'm not talking about forty or thirty or even twenty years ago; in the last ten. I'm not sure if white on white would be different, but I'm not filled with confidence that this miserable slimebag is even going to be convicted either..

[HairOfTheDog]

^ That coincides with the rationale of High Court Judge Mlambo back in February when he ruled that the trial could be televised.

"The justice system is still perceived as treating the rich and famous with kid gloves whilst being harsh on the poor and vulnerable," the judge said.

"Enabling a larger South African society to follow first-hand the criminal proceedings which involve a celebrity, so to speak, will go a long way into dispelling these negative and unfounded perceptions about the justice system, and will inform and educate society regarding the conduct of criminal proceedings."

I think that Nel and the state are sincerely pursuing a murder conviction against Pistorius. And, IMO, Roux and Pistorius are pulling out all the stops to paint Pistorius as a victim of South Africa's high crime, a botched investigation, and his disability.

There are no juries in South Africa and it is one of 140 countries which has abolished the death penalty -- it's been banned there since 1995 (though, from your post, it sounds like some citizens choose to impose it unlawfully themselves).

So, deciding whether Pistorius is guilty of murder, culpable homicide, or nothing but mistakenly thinking he was defending himself, is on the shoulders of Judge Masipa and her two appointed assessors (the assessors have the power to challenge Masipa's decision if they disagree).

[crash]

^ That coincides with the rationale of High Court Judge Mlambo back in February when he ruled that the trial could be televised.

"The justice system is still perceived as treating the rich and famous with kid gloves whilst being harsh on the poor and vulnerable," the judge said.

"Enabling a larger South African society to follow first-hand the criminal proceedings which involve a celebrity, so to speak, will go a long way into dispelling these negative and unfounded perceptions about the justice system, and will inform and educate society regarding the conduct of criminal proceedings."

I understand Judge Mlambo's sentiment, but I think these guys would brush it off as lip service for a rockstar's trial..

I think that Nel and the state are sincerely pursuing a murder conviction against Pistorius. And, IMO, Roux and Pistorius are pulling out all the stops to paint Pistorius as a victim of South Africa's high crime, a botched investigation, and his disability.

They would also argue that this was on purpose (if it comes to be a significant factor in a Not Guilty ruling), and that is how the system works for rich or well known white guys.


There are no juries in South Africa and it is one of 140 countries which has abolished the death penalty -- it's been banned there since 1995 (though, from your post, it sounds like some citizens choose to impose it unlawfully themselves).

So, deciding whether Pistorius is guilty of murder, culpable homicide, or nothing but mistakenly thinking he was defending himself, is on the shoulders of Judge Masipa and her two appointed assessors (the assessors have the power to challenge Masipa's decision if they disagree).

Well hopefully the truth will lie at least half way in between, HotD, and whatever the decision, it is based on fact and purveys a reasonable amount of justice. I understand the sentiment of change in South Africa, but I'm not believing it's occurring just yet..

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah, I can't speak to the voracity of the high court's rationale regarding its ruling.

But, your colleagues' opinions reminded me of the judge's public statements released earlier this year -- clearly the high court is quite aware of the negative perception of South Africa's justice system. Whether they're really on a mission to improve the system (which would not be a one-case/overnight endeavor, of course) and make it more transparent, or instead just taking this high-profile opportunity to create such an image, is something that I don't know.

In either case, based on what I've seen of the trial thus far, I do believe that Prosecutor Nel and his team are doing everything they can to make a solid case for murder.

I haven't followed many criminal cases out of Australia, but in the US, attacking the integrity of the LE investigation/processing/personnel (as Roux has done) is par for the course for the Defense team in such a case.

And, I think you're right -- if Pistorius is convicted, the Defense will likely push that LE intentionally mishandled or manufactured evidence in order to get the conviction (also a standard appeal issue in the US).

In Pistorius' case, unfortunately, IMO there were some egregious oversights in the handling of evidence -- like not examining prints on the toilet door, watches stolen from Pistorius' home during the investigation, LE footprints reflected in the crime scene photos, the unsecured storage of the toilet door after it was entered into evidence...

The fact that former Lead Detective Botha claimed initially that Pistorius had his legs on and had steroids in his home (false) might also lend more credence to a standard Defense claim of LE incompetence / corruption as well (though those early Botha fuck-ups have been acknowledged and, to his credit, Nel did not attempt to hold on to them or backpedal out of them -- just threw them out of the equation and the case).

Very interesting case study -- hope it ultimately results in appropriate justice for Reeva Steenkamp.

[ramseycat]

Did the prosecution ask Oscar why he would think an intruder would be in the master bath with the door closed? Doesn't that seem odd? An intruder would not be in the bathroom.

"Hey, hang on. I've got to pee and then I'll attack you."

[HairOfTheDog]

Did the prosecution ask Oscar why he would think an intruder would be in the master bath with the door closed? Doesn't that seem odd? An intruder would not be in the bathroom.

"Hey, hang on. I've got to pee and then I'll attack you."

It was part of his statement and has been addressed in his testimony this week. He recounted hearing a window sliding open in his bathroom when he got out of bed to address the patio fan. He said that conditioned by years of living in crime-ridden South Africa, the noises convinced him someone was breaking into his luxury Pretoria home through that window.

Before his testimony, I'd never heard him claim that Reeva was actually awake in bed and had just spoken to him (she said, "can't you sleep, my baba?" -- according to him) when he contends that he got up to address the patio fan just before the shooting. It's a big deal. IMO, it's an attempt to explain why he wouldn't have considered that it was Reeva in the toilet -- he was only out of bed for a very short time and he obviously believed that she was still in bed -- sadly, he simply didn't hear her go in there. That's the scenario that I think the defense wants the judge to believe.

[HairOfTheDog]

Jealousy

In his testimony, Pistorius addressed the message that Reeva sent to him in late January -- the one saying she felt "picked on" and was "sometimes scared" of him.

Pistorius said: "My lady we were at an engagement party. It was a bad day in our relationship."

The athlete told the court he saw the model speaking to a man he didn't know and felt "insecure and jealous". Pistorius said he "wasn't kind" to her as he "should have been".

He said the couple had some disagreements but insisted they were in a loving relationship, and often exchanged messages of affection and compliments. He often referred to her as "my angel".

Pistorius told the court he was "besotted" with Ms Steenkamp and suggested he was "more into her" at times, than she was into him. He said the model and law graduate understood his needs as an athlete and was very supportive of him.

He also spoke of the first time he met Ms Steenkamp in November 2012. He denied he had cheated on former girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, saying the previous relationship had ended. At the start of the trial, the 20-year old student and part-time model claimed Pistorius had cheated on her with Ms Steenkamp.

Soon after that testimony from Pistorius, Ms Taylor posted, and then deleted, a tweet saying: "Last lies you get to tell. You better make it worth your while".

Ref:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...45606.html

[Midwest Spy]

He's had a year to fine tune his story.

He's a hot head who likes guns and feels entitled.

A conviction would be nice.

[HairOfTheDog]

He told Reeva's Mom that Reeva went to bed feeling loved. How dare he. I'm unreasonably irked by that.

I know what you mean.

I'm irked by the fact that Pistorius refuses to say directly, "I shot and killed Reeva".

Nel started his cross-examination of Pistorius today and asked him to take responsibility and make the statement. Pistorius just said, "I made a mistake".

Here's the clip of Nel trying to get it out of him.



I guess what irks me is that it's not even contested that he shot and killed Reeva -- it's only contested as to why he did so.

So, Pistorius being unwilling to say the words reinforces my belief that he'll say whatever he needs to say, and avoid saying what is true if he doesn't think it reflects favorably on him, in order to save his ass.

If I were Roux, I'd have advised Pistorius to make that statement if asked to do so in court. Wonder if Roux failed to anticipate that Nel would make such a request.

ETA: the closest Pistorius comes is "I took Reeva's life"; much softer than "I shot and killed Reeva" -- which is what was requested.

[Duchess]

I have a terrible reaction when I listen to him. I begin to feel sorry for him.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have a terrible reaction when I listen to him. I begin to feel sorry for him.

You're only human, M'lady.

[ramseycat]

I have a terrible reaction when I listen to him. I begin to feel sorry for him.

STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!

[HairOfTheDog]

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO

PISTORIUS CROSS-EXAMINATION CONTINUES

"Pistorius is a liar who doesn't take responsibility for his own destructive actions" was the theme, IMO.

I agree with Nel on that front. Pistorius' self-serving claims and evasions in cross-examination piss me off -- no matter what weepy pussy tone he uses to deliver them.

The messages between the couple
Nel pointed out how Pistorius didn't return "I love you" in messages between he and Reeva, how he'd told her not to chew gum and complained about her accent, how he picked on her and accused her of flirting, how he'd never written a long return message to Reeva and instead used quick terms of endearment because, "it was all about Mr. Pistorius".

Pistorius denied picking on Reeva, so Nel asked him if he was calling Reeva a liar. Pistorius said, "Reeva never lied".

HOTD: Cant' have it both ways -- so which is it? Score one for Nel.

The reckless discharge of firearms
Nel questioned Pistorius about a shooting incident at Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013, about which the athlete said he did not discharge a firearm.

"The firearm discharged. I was trying to make it safe," Pistorius said.

Pistorius said he repeatedly took the blame for the incident, but the prosecutor tried to poke holes in his declaration.

"This is incredible. You never touched the trigger, the gun went off. You took the blame, you took responsibility, but no one remembers," Nel said.

HOTD: Pistorius is full of shit, IMO -- he disregarded safety measures, shot his friend in the foot, and told his other friend to take the blame. Everyone present has testified as much.

The shooting through the toilet door
"I remember pulling the trigger and the rounds going into the door," he told the court when asked about the night he shot and killed Steenkamp. "I did not fire deliberately."

HOTD: Uh huh. He didn't mean to fire the gun?

IMO, claiming "I didn't fire deliberately" is an attempt to avoid both premeditation and culpable homicide convictions. Not only is he now claiming that he shot due to mistaken identity, but also because it was kind of an accident.

Love of guns, shooting for damage
Yesterday, Nel had asked Pistorius what a "zombie stopper" was and if he had been in the presence of someone using the term.

Pistorius said he could not remember knowing the term or being in the presence of someone who used the term.

Nel then asked if he would be surprised and want to see it if there was a video on an international news channel on which the term was used.

Pistorius said "yes". Nel said he would show Pistorius the video.

That's when court was adjourned yesterday. Pistorius walked right into Nel's trap by lying and opening the door for Nel to introduce new evidence (a literal smoking gun). Roux objected and said it was an ambush. Nel countered that Pistorius had just invited him to "please show him the video".

Judge Masipa allowed the video to be played in court today Here it is:



After Pistorius blasts the watermelon to pieces and everyone gets excited, someone (sounds like Pistorius) is heard saying: "It's a lot softer than brain, but xxxx it's like a zombie stopper".

And, here's Nel drawing the connection between what happened to the brain-like watermelon in the video and what happened to Reeva's head when she was shot by Pistorius with that same 9mm.


Refs: today's trial broadcast and http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/10/world/...ius-trial/

[Eat Shit And Die]

He's such a pussy the woman crying the neighbours heard was probably him.

[Blindgreed1]

He's such a pussy the woman crying the neighbours heard was probably him.