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

[Duchess]

You guys

[HairOfTheDog]

Pistorius appeared in court today and was granted bail equivalent to just under $700 USD. He is prohibited from leaving the house except for between 7 am and 12 noon, cannot travel beyond 12 miles, handed over his passport, and must wear an ankle bracelet.

His attorneys plan to launch an appeal of the murder conviction with South Africa's Constitutional Court. If the Constitutional Court refuses to consider his request for appeal, Pistorius will remain living in his uncle's mansion until he is sentenced for murder in April.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, though a judge can reduce that sentence for what the law describes as exceptional circumstances.

Story: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oscar-pisto...--spt.html

[Maggot]

There's that ankle bracelet again!!

[afraidforallofus]

There's that ankle bracelet again!!

[HairOfTheDog]

South Africa's Constitutional Court has denied Oscar Pistorius' conviction appeal. Good.

So, there's no chance that he'll avoid going back to prison for several years for Reeva's murder.

The only thing Pistorius and team can do now is try to minimize the sentence. The state is seeking no less than 15 years behind bars (he'll get credit for the 1 year he served when on the negligent homicide conviction; which the higher court overruled in favor of a murder conviction).

Judge Masipa, the trial judge who the higher court ruled erred in interpreting the law when she convicted him initially of the lesser charge, will be the sentencing judge when he's back in court on April 18^th.

Story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35720684

[Duchess]

South Africa's Constitutional Court has denied Oscar Pistorius' conviction appeal. Good.

Oh happy day!

I try to have faith in the process but sometimes it's really hard.

[HairOfTheDog]

Sentencing Hearing Underway

Pistorious and his attorney (Roux) are pleading for leniency in sentencing.

Prosecutor Nel criticized Pistorius for giving an interview to a major tv outlet last week. He said Pistorius never told the truth to the court.

He also questioned Pistorius' claim of remorse, despite giving no consistent explanation for what happened on the night Reeva was shot dead.

'Remorse without a credible explanation is impossible - remorse for what?' he demanded to know.'There is a difference between I am very sorry Reeva is dead and I am sorry for myself that Reeva is dead,' Mr Nel argued.

Nel challenged the defence's request to spare Pistorius a return to jail and hospitalising him instead; he said that would be too far from the prescribed sentence for murder which is 15 years.

[HairOfTheDog]

Lotta tears in the South African courtroom, from both sides.



In heart-wrenching (victim impact) testimony, Reeva's dad ^ Barry Steenkamp urged judge Masipa to show the world pictures of his daughter's gunshot wounds so everyone could see the pain Pistorius had inflicted on her. The deadly ammunition is used by the military and designed to expand upon impact, wreaking devastating damage to the flesh it strikes.

(Prosecutor Nel agreed to petition the judge to lift the seal on the photos of Reeva's body.)

Mr Steenkamp, 72, also described how he repeatedly self-harmed himself with this diabetes needles in order to 'feel some of the pain' that his daughter had suffered as she bled to death.

The retired racehorse trainer broke down repeatedly in the witness box as he laid bare the devastating impact his only daughter's death had had on his life.

'I think of her every day of my life, morning, noon and night, in the early hours of the morning, I think of her all the time,' he told a sentencing hearing that will decide what punishment Pistorius will face for killing the 29-year-old.

He described his wife June's devastation, adding that 'people say that June is 'stone-faced' but I know that June grieves like I do all the time.

'She is probably a bit stronger, I hear her crying at night time and talking to Reeva and of course she feels just as much as I do.'

[HairOfTheDog]

Pitorius' attorney told the judge that punishment is not meant to "break the offender".

He is asking for Pistorius to be hospitalized instead of imprisoned and used Pistorius' disability to argue the point; claiming that Pistorius is too vulnerable and that his stumps got infected while he was in jail during his trial.


^ Pistorius demonstrated his claimed vulnerability for the court, causing his family and supporters to break down in loud sobs while Pistorius walked across the court-room on his stumps, sweating, and with tears in his eyes.

If the defence considers the forthcoming sentence too harsh, they can appeal it. If the prosecution considers the sentence too light, they can also appeal it.


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...ncing.html

[Maggot]

He should put some shoes on those bad boys and join the circus as the worlds fastest dwarf.

[Duchess]

That looks like a play for sympathy to me.

[Duchess]

This morning the judge delivered her verdict. No more house arrest for Oscar. He was immediately taken away to begin his 6 years in prison. The judge said one of the factors in her decision was the fact Oscar fired 4 shots into the bathroom when he knew someone was in there.

[Maggot]

I wonder if they had to carry him out of court.

[Carsman]

This morning the judge delivered her verdict. No more house arrest for Oscar. He was immediately taken away to begin his 6 years in prison. The judge said one of the factors in her decision was the fact Oscar fired 4 shots into the bathroom when he knew someone was in there.

Somehow "6" years doesn't seem hardly enough!

[Donovan]

He tried for self defense but didn't really have a leg to stand on.

[QueenBee]

I take issue with the fact he KNEW his girlfriend was in the home....hears a noise in the bathroom in middle of the night, and automatically thinks intruder? I call bullshit on that defense. Have all along. He does not get my sympathy vote at all.

[HairOfTheDog]

I take issue with the fact he KNEW his girlfriend was in the home....hears a noise in the bathroom in middle of the night, and automatically thinks intruder? I call bullshit on that defense. Have all along. He does not get my sympathy vote at all.

I don't have any sympathy for him either. His story was unbelievable and his sentence was way too light.

Fortunately, that sentence has just been doubled by an Appeals Judge in South Africa.

The prosecution had appealed the original 6 year sentence, arguing that it was too lenient and showed favored treatment due to his celebrity.

Pistorius' new sentence is 13 years.

More: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/24/africa/osc...index.html

[Carsman]

Sentence is still way too lite!

[Maggot]

I take issue with the fact he KNEW his girlfriend was in the home....hears a noise in the bathroom in middle of the night, and automatically thinks intruder?    I call bullshit on that defense.  Have all along.   He does not get my sympathy vote at all.

I don't have any sympathy for him either.  His story was unbelievable and his sentence was way too light.

Fortunately, that sentence has just been doubled by an Appeals Judge in South Africa.  

The prosecution had appealed the original 6 year sentence, arguing that it was too lenient and showed favored treatment due to his celebrity.

Pistorius' new sentence is 13 years.

More:  http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/24/africa/osc...index.html

I don't think that would be legal in America.

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think that would be legal in America.

It wouldn't have been possible under the U.S. criminal justice system.  South Africa's criminal justice system allows both the defense and the prosecution to appeal verdicts and sentences, but appeals are available only to the defense in the U.S.