Oscar Pistorius trial

[JillJ72]

Starting a new thread as as was pointed out on the other thread, it is not an appropriate place to "talk" and continue to "promote" a really poor excuse for a "joke".

Yesterday's post-mortem evidence was awful; if ever there's a way to get across just how unglamorous guns are, post-mortem evidence is a painfully honest way of doing so.

I listened to the trial live today. My main impression? That Darren Fresco consulted with legal experts to ensure his affidavit did not incriminate him, yet left room for questions that weren't explicitly answered. If he'd paid for that input from legal experts, they didn't sew it up nicely and tightly. I got the impression he was a bit of an unwilling witness really, and had problems remembering some things, yet was very insistent on others. Some good journo feeds on twitter that give different flavours and interpretations.

I'll be honest. I hope this was as OP said, an appalling mistake. But equally so many questions, the constant "whys". And so I am sitting on the fence, listening to argument and counter-argument, and waiting for the judge's final decision.

Never have been in a court of law before, are proceedings usually this long, slow, going round in circles, playing cat and mouse?

bum I still think any jail sentence would be pointless except perhaps to act as a deterrent to others shooting without being directly under attack themselves.

I take the not looking directly at Nel as a sign of being frightened and nervous. I think if you feel OP is telling the truth, as I do, then you interpret things so as to support that view. Same if you think he is lying, you can make anything fit that view. I guess only time will tell but it isn't making for comfortable viewing and I'm tempted to stop watching as it is so tragic for all concerned.

He is desperatley trying to claim that he Accidentally aimed at and shot at an invisible someone four times, in short.......

Again, he is too afraid of the consequences TO HIMSELF to really admitl the truth - the loss to Reeva of her entire life is swamped by his own selfishness.

TBH if I had done something like that I don't think I'd give a damn about what would happen to me.

Bonnie - wow you really defend him to the hilt in every post!

How can anyone believe him when he keeps changing his story?

Bonnie, in that case it wouldn't be pointless.

Seen in a tweet that Pistorius would not look at Nel during any of his testimony, even when being asked/answering a question. It's things like that I find disrespectful.

You're not meant to look at the barrister, you're meant to address your answers to the judge.

He doesn't sound scared in most of his testimony, in fact in most of his long (pointless) testimony, he comes across almost cocky and sure of his facts

godot not even when being asked a question, and when involved in a back and forth? In answering a question, u understand he is to address the judge, but not looking at someone when they are looking at you and addressing you is surely rude?

He was very composed for large chunks of today's testimony and broke down when questions took an awkward, for him, turn.

Just giving my view animation as everyone else here is, am open to being proved wrong but my overall feeling is how sad the whole situation is.

Bonnie - he has killed somebody. That is massive. He needs to go to prison, for his own sake let alone anybody else's. If he is as traumatised and guilt-ridden as he seems to be, then he needs to take a punishment for it. It's not enough to say 'oh he's a broken man' or whatever. A member of my in-laws once went to prison for 2 years for causing the death of a motorcyclist. It was a controversial case because nothing this person did had caused the death directly but he had been granted a harsh sentence. He served his time (quite a big deal for this PhD student) and now, fifteen years later, says it was the best thing that could have happened, because it enabled him to feel as though he had 'paid his dues' properly. How can OP pay his dues, having taken Reeva's life? Even as an accident, he needs to work through his own guilt that he caused another human being's death.

Bonnie, that's just what this thread is for. You have a different view from me but I still find your points valid and interesting.

But Bonnie he killed her. He shot at her with bullets designed to kill FOUR times !!!

Of course he must answer for his actions! He is guilty of taking a life with no just reason - even if he really did believe an intruder was hiding in the toilet he had no reason to shoot four times through a door.

OP remarked today, that he WAS taking responsibility... by waiting, not living his life and now having his days in court.

No mention of the new girlfriend? For one. And he's been out on bail, not locked up. He's been with family and friends.

HowAboutNo - it's counter-intuitive, but when I appeared in court as a witness I was told before entering that I should address all my answers to the judge and not to the barrister. I imagine that OP is terrified, and therefore may be fixating on looking at the judge rather than Nel, knowing that it is acceptable for him to do so.

The thing I said to DH today was if I killed him with a gun through a door, thinking he was an intruder, I would WANT to spend the rest of my life in jail. I would feel so guilty and remorseful that I wouldn't want to be free to live my life as I please.

Ah yes the new girlfriend...

any jail sentence would be pointless I wonder if you would think this if your relative had been shot

There is no disputing that he shot to kill unless you think he accidentally fired after deliberately getting his gun, putting himself into harm's way by walking towards the noise, took off the safety and then accidentally fired 4 times close to the door handle. I'm sorry, I don't believe that.

As someone said upthread, he has to take responsibility and his own testimony in court is showing he is nowhere near that mindset yet. If he isn't given a jail sentence it's allowing anyone to shoot to kill when there are only two people present ie no witnesses to dispute your reasoning/story.

voiceofgodot totally agree. I don't see that he is anywhere near that acceptance of just punishment, he is trying to trivialize it (by referring to it as "a mistake") and distance himself from the responsibility for it.

At this stage I wonder if he ever will. A year later, and he still won't take it.

Anya - that is the absolute point for me. Why, when you hear a noise/intruder do you whisper to your gf (whilst failing to check that she's actually there ) and then stumble down the the hall and seek them out? Oh - screaming and shouting while you go - which nicely explains the screams heard by witnesses before the shots, doesn't it?

He could have barricaded them both in the bedroom - aimed his gun at the bedroom door - and called security. It just makes no sense to me.

I think it was domestic violence - and this whole story is a cover up concocted to fit the evidence. Poor Reeva.

I wonder if, like a child, he says "I'm sorry" or "I didn't mean it" enough times it will all go away??

I think he's arrogant, not that bright and entitled.

Maybe he didn't intend to kill her but he knew it was her in the loo IMO.

Just looking a cold hard statistics would have this as a DV situation.

That new girlfriend is so young. She was on holiday with her parents when they met. They must have been over the moon.

Ah okay I see godot

Who is the new girlfriend? Who in their right mind would want to be involved with that situation in any way right now? Cannot be a pleasant experience surely. Too emotional, too controversial. Especially when he's on trial for killing his last girlfriend... Yikes

I haven't followed it as closely as some if you. But I have followed bits.
But I don't think he has come off very well in all if this.
I mean by the whole way he conducted himself, the crying, the choice to present himself as very Christian.
He surely hasn't convinced the judge?

He has a new girlfriend? Jeez, He isn't paying his legal/pr team enough money if he thinks that's a good idea.