poor li'l tink-tink...


http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/8946820/olympic-sprinter-oscar-pistorius-involved-shooting-home-woman-dead

Oscar Pistorius involved in shooting
Updated: February 14, 2013, 7:17 AM ET
Associated Press


PRETORIA, South Africa -- Paralympic superstar Oscar Pistorius was charged Thursday with the murder of his girlfriend who was shot inside his home in South Africa, a stunning development in the life of a national hero known as the Blade Runner for his high-tech artificial legs.

Reeva Steenkamp, a model who spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women, was shot four times in the predawn hours in the home, in a gated community in the capital, Pretoria, police said.

Hours later after undergoing police questioning, Pistorius left a police station accompanied by officers. He looked down as photographers snapped pictures, the hood on his gray workout jacket pulled up, covering most of his face.

Police said a 26-year-old male would appear in court later on Thursday on the charge of murder and that there had "previously been incidents at the home of Mr. Oscar Pistorius." Police in South Africa do not name suspects in crimes until they have appeared in court but police spokesperson Brigadier Denise Beukes said that Pistorius was at his home at the time of the death of Steenkamp and "there is no other suspect involved."

"Yes there are witnesses and there have also been interviews this morning," Beukes told reporters outside the gated complex where Pistorius lived. "We are talking about neighbors and people that heard things that happened earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place."

Police said that earlier reports that Steenkamp may have been mistaken for a burglar by Pistorius did not come from the police. Several local media outlets had initially reported that the shooting may have been accidental.

"It would be very premature and very irresponsible of me to say what actually has happened," Beukes said. "There have been allegations. We are not sure."

Beukes also said there had been previous incidents and "allegations of a domestic nature" at the home of the Olympic star and double-amputee runner, who is one of South Africa's and the world's most famous sportsmen and made history at the London Games last year by being the first double-amputee runner to compete at the Olympics.

"I'm not going to elaborate on it but there have been incidents (at Pistorius' home)," Beukes said.

Capacity Relations, a talent management firm, earlier named model Steenkamp as the victim of the shooting. Police spokeswoman Lt. Col. Katlego Mogale told The Associated Press that officers received a call around 3 a.m. after the shooting.

A 9 mm pistol was recovered and a murder case opened against Pistorius, who was to appear in court later Thursday. Journalists crowded onto wooden benches in the rear of the word-paneled courtroom which is inside a prison in Pretoria. By midday the room was hot in the South African summer. Authorities then said the proceedings would be moved to a different courtroom.

Mogale said when police arrived they found paramedics trying to revive a 30-year-old woman, who had been shot four times. Mogale, who was speaking to the AP from the scene, said the woman died at the house.

Police have still not released the name of the woman, but the publicist for Steenkamp confirmed in a statement that the model was dead.

"We can confirm that Reeva Steenkamp has passed away," Steenkamp's publicist Sarit Tomlinson said. "We are in communication with people on the scene, please wait for official statements, as there is too much speculation at this moment in time. We will provide further information as soon as we are able to provide accurate information as to what transpired.

"Our thoughts and prayers go to the Steenkamp family, who have asked to have their privacy respected during this difficult time, everyone is simply devastated. She was the kindest, sweetest human being; an angel on earth and will be sorely missed.

Tomlinson said Steenkamp, known simply as Reeva, was one of FHM's (formerly For Him Magazine) 100 Sexiest Women in the World for two years running, appeared in countless international and national advertisements and was one of the celebrity contestants on Tropika Island of Treasure, filmed in Jamaica.

On Twitter, she tweeted messages urging women to stand up against rape alongside her excitement about Valentine's Day. "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?" she tweeted. "It should be a day of love for everyone."

Mogale and Beukes said the victim's family had not yet identified the body.

Pistorius made history in London last year when he became the first double-amputee track athlete to compete in the Olympic Games, propelling him to the status of an athletics superstar.

Having had both his legs amputated below the knee before his first birthday because of a congenital condition, he campaigned for years to be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes. Having initially been banned because of his carbon fiber blades -- which critics said gave him an unfair advantage -- he was cleared by sport's highest court in 2008 and allowed to run at the top events.

He competed in the 400 meters and on South Africa's 4x400 relay team at the London Games, making history after having his selection confirmed on South Africa's team at the very last minute. He also retained his Paralympic title in the 400 meters in London.

South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic committee released a statement on Thursday saying they had been "inundated" with requests for comment but were not in a position to give out any details of the shooting.

"SASCOC, like the rest of the public, knows no more than what is in the public domain, which is there has been an alleged fatal shooting on the basis of a mistaken identity and an apparent assumption of a burglary," the South African Olympic committee said. "The organization is in no position to comment on the incident other than to say our deepest sympathy and condolences have been expressed to the families of all concerned."

The International Paralympic Committee also said it wouldn't comment in detail apart from offering its condolences to the victim's family.

"This is a police matter, with a formal investigation currently underway," the IPC said. "Therefore it would be inappropriate for the IPC to comment on this incident until the official police process has concluded. The IPC would like to offer its deepest sympathy and condolences to all families involved in this case."

South Africa has some of the world's highest murder rates, with nearly 50 people killed each day in the nation of 50 million. It also has high rates of rape, other assaults, robbery and carjackings.

U.N. statistics show South Africa has the second highest rate of shooting deaths in the world, second only to Colombia.

---

Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa. Associated Press writer Michelle Faul contributed to this report from Johannesburg.


Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press

You can't even hail a cab and go places at night, because there are dummy cabs, that will take you somewhere, rob you and if you're lucky that's all they'll do to you.

The complex I lived in had an armed guard, big ass steel gates, another set of gates and a keypad you had to enter.

The door to the apartment was a heavy steel one, with bars in in the middle and a metal mesh going horizontally. Then once you opened the 3 locks on that door, there was another heavy wooden door with 4 more locks on it.

Once the sun set, it's pretty much impossible to walk around outside.

A major sign of affluence is how high the walls(with barbed wire) are surrounding your house, how many guard dogs, and how many armed guards you have protecting your shit...

it's wild out there...I heard it's gotten better since they had the World Cup but when I went in 2009, it was an entirely different story.

______________________
Ghostface Killah - Bulletproof Wallets
One Be Lo - The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.
KRNDN - Everythings Nothing

just curious

(http://www.iavi.org/Pages/default.aspx)...

and I went out there to vist him towards the end of his rotation. We hit up South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Zanzibar and Kenya and then flew back.

______________________
Ghostface Killah - Bulletproof Wallets
One Be Lo - The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.
KRNDN - Everythings Nothing

>(http://www.iavi.org/Pages/default.aspx)...
>
>and I went out there to vist him towards the end of his
>rotation. We hit up South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia,
>Mozambique, Zanzibar and Kenya and then flew back.

I've only been to SA and Zim.

I know people who happily didn't live behind quite such an armored fortress.

Murder rate is high. Robbery rates are high. But let's not paint it like a war zone. Some neighborhoods are worse than others (understatement of the year).

According to this, 80% of violence is localized in small areas between people who know each other.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8668615.stm

People across the whole country have walls around their yards, but that's as much for petty crime as it is for murder or violence.

There are as many bars on the windows in half the neighborhoods in Brooklyn as there are anywhere in SA.

SA has a crime problem, but you don't necessarily have to live in a fortress with an armed guard and 8 door locks. You can, but you don't.

Ironically (or not ironically), South Africa has similar violence issues that we have in our gun-happy country. Shooting intruders. Keeping weapons around. Racism.

>I know people who happily didn't live behind quite such an
>armored fortress.

The area I lived in was north Jo'burg (Randburg). It was considered metropolitan and the crime was STILL high around there. The other people in the apartment complex acknowledged that it wasn't safe to walk around after dark (like you can in Brooklyn...for the most part)


>Murder rate is high. Robbery rates are high. But let's not
>paint it like a war zone. Some neighborhoods are worse than
>others (understatement of the year).

That's the picture that was painted to me by the people in the apartment complex (edit, full disclaimer..they were mostly Sephardic Jews, Asians, whites and Indians). I didn't get brave and take any chances.

>According to this, 80% of violence is localized in small areas
>between people who know each other.
>
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8668615.stm


>People across the whole country have walls around their yards,
>but that's as much for petty crime as it is for murder or
>violence.

That wasn't the case at all in Durban. No one had high walls or barbed wired electric fences surrounding their lots. It felt at least 100x safer than Johannesburg did.

>There are as many bars on the windows in half the
>neighborhoods in Brooklyn as there are anywhere in SA.


>SA has a crime problem, but you don't necessarily have to live
>in a fortress with an armed guard and 8 door locks. You can,
>but you don't.

Not SA, but Johannesburg, specifically.

______________________
Ghostface Killah - Bulletproof Wallets
One Be Lo - The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.
KRNDN - Everythings Nothing

(and I mean that truly), you have to take what South Africans (especially white ones) say with a grain of salt.

Their perceptions of danger, crime, and the behavior of other ethnic groups gets problematic pretty quickly.

Not saying they're wrong. I mean I have friends (white and black) who have had pretty bad crime happen to them there.

Just that as I say, I personally take middle class and upper class perceptions of crime with a grain of salt.

Just like I do here in Brooklyn. And I have met plenty of people who don't think it's safe to walk around Brooklyn at night.

>(and I mean that truly), you have to take what South Africans
>(especially white ones) say with a grain of salt.
>
>Their perceptions of danger, crime, and the behavior of other
>ethnic groups gets problematic pretty quickly.
>
>Not saying they're wrong. I mean I have friends (white and
>black) who have had pretty bad crime happen to them there.
>
>Just that as I say, I personally take middle class and upper
>class perceptions of crime with a grain of salt.
>
>Just like I do here in Brooklyn. And I have met plenty of
>people who don't think it's safe to walk around Brooklyn at
>night.

Don't qualify your point. You're right.

And for someone to use the crime rate in Jbburg as a
justification for this guy's nuttiness is outright
offensive


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

>And for someone to use the crime rate in Jbburg as a
>justification for this guy's nuttiness is outright
>offensive


Truth just said "its real out there"...and I reiterated my first hand experience from being in Jo'Burg for almost two weeks.

______________________
Ghostface Killah - Bulletproof Wallets
One Be Lo - The R.E.B.I.R.T.H.
KRNDN - Everythings Nothing

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/23/world/africa/south-africa-gun-violence/index.html?hpt=hp_t1


(CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius has claimed in a court hearing that when he heard noises in his home, he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder and accidentally shot her with his 9 mm pistol.

Plausible? The courts will decide. In the meantime, the killing has highlighted South Africa's history of gun violence and high crime. And it's shown the world that many South Africans live with a palpable, almost paranoid, fear of having their homes broken into.

In the past year, more than 50% of South Africans told the country's police force that they're afraid.

The number of home burglaries across the country of 50 million have more than doubled. They totaled 9,063 in a 12-month period spanning 2002/2003; seven years later, it was up 18,786. And in a similar period ending in 2012, reported break-ins dipped to 16,766, according to South Africa's crime reporting body, the Institute for Security Studies.

The international group Gunpolicy.org reports that there are about 6 million licensed firearms in South Africa.

"The paranoia about being a victim of a house robbery is understandable," said the group's small arms researcher Lauren Tracey. "Victims are relatively helpless against these attacks."

It's common to see armed guards patrolling gated, middle-class neighborhoods.


Hiring a private security firm is not the exception but the norm. Workaday people install panic buttons, closed-circuit televisions, man trap doors, boom gates and outdoor point-to-point infrared motion-sensing beams on their houses.

Also unique to South Africa: When burglars break in, they likely aren't after a flat-screen television or jewelry, experts say. They want the homeowner's guns.

That's in part because it's very hard to acquire a gun legally in South Africa, but it remains, many say, relatively easy to get a gun illegally.

A history of violence

To understand South Africa's gun culture, it's crucial to go back nearly two decades. In 1994, apartheid ended. The official system of racial segregation, in place since 1948, took rights away from black Africans and gave virtually all power in every aspect of life to whites.

For generations, violence born out of apartheid spawned a kind of arms race; blacks and whites fought against each other, and everyone else armed themselves, afraid to be caught in the cross fire.
Gun violence was at a record high as the country made its first effort to become what archbishop and peace crusader Desmond Tutu envisioned -- a rainbow nation.

Other spiritual leaders around the country began campaigning to reduce violence.

"Before 1994, there was a low-key civil war in South Africa," said Claire Taylor, a spokesperson for Gun Free South Africa, a non-profit group that grew out of a movement to cut down on crime born from years of inequity during apartheid. "Both sides -- white and blacks -- were armed soldiers in a way."

The roots of gun culture in South Africa are not unlike those of the United States, she said.

"There is a history of colonization, of taking, of settling," she said. "For black people, the AK-47 was a symbol of liberation, of fighting back. There is huge meaning attached. Gun are about fighting and superiority."

Unlike the United States, the right to own a gun is not written in the country's constitution.

Related: U.S. gun debate: Where is the middle ground?
Police have confiscated and destroyed hundreds of thousands of unlicensed guns, but it's unclear how many illegal guns remain on the street.

Researcher Tracey also believes that criminal violence is rooted in South Africa's historical traumas. There was rampant proliferation of firearms in the nation before the end of apartheid, and liberation movements stockpiled them.

Many of those weapons, she said, were never recovered.

Laying down the guns

As Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, took office in 1994, there was a tremendous desire to put the guns down.
"There was a national feeling that we had lived under the gun for so many years during apartheid, and we had to do something to signal that beginning anew was possible," said Claire Taylor, the non-profit's spokesperson.

Taylor was personally motivated to act. At the time, one of her closest friends was shot to death during a break-in.
In 2000, South Africa passed the Firearms Control Act. Since then, violence by handguns, Taylor said, has dropped steadily, often by double digits.

Among the law's rigors: Before it was enacted, 16 was the minimum age to own a gun; today it's 21. To apply for a gun, you have to take competency tests, akin to a driver's license test, which demonstrates that not only can you shoot straight, but that you also know the law and how to store your firearm safely.

Next, law enforcement conducts a background check that runs an applicant's criminal history and also tries to assess whether the applicant has a propensity for violence, may be mentally ill or suffers from an addiction that might cloud their judgment.

An applicant must give references whom the authorities will interview, including relatives and a spouse, if that's possible, Taylor said.

Authorities go a step further, checking medical information and digging into any instances of domestic violence or employment issues.
Once licensed, gun owners must reapply and requalify for their licenses every two to 10 years.

South African law also helps ensure that only one gun per person is approved. If someone is a sport shooter or has a reason that for needing to own more than one gun, he must file a separate application and explain, Taylor said.

The law isn't a fix-all

The law isn't perfect. As one South African correspondent put it, guns are still very much a part of the culture. Signs at South African airports and casinos point to where consumers should drop off their weapons.

And gun ownership advocates say that is why people are still incredibly afraid of hearing someone creeping in their house at night.

There are about 2,000 guns stolen from legal gun owners in South Africa every month, according to Gun Free South Africa.
Between April 2005 and March 2011, more than 18,000 police firearms were reportedly stolen or lost. Guns have gone missing from police stations.

There's also a severe backlog in gun license applications, some of which date back several years. A task force has been appointed to look into the problem, Taylor said.

All of this has highlighted one fact for the country gun rights organization Gun Owners of South Africa.
Executive Wouter de Waal told CNN that it is "dead easy" to get weapons illegally.

And there's little reason for armed burglars to think they'll be caught and punished. The rate of arrest and prosecution in the country is 7%, said former detective Rudolph Zinn, who wrote a book about home invasions and now trains South African police.

He believes there's one chief reason for that: Few South Africans trust law enforcement because in recent years, the police force has become politicized, with higher ranking officers who are politically appointed.

"In 1994 there was a push to have policing more community-focused, there was more legislation to focus on that," he said.

"There was a distrust related to our heritage," he says, referring to apartheid, "and unfortunately, over the years, we've gone back to that. I saw it often when I was a detective.

There are undoubtedly more home invasions, he said, than are officially counted.

"People don't even want to report a crime," he said, "because they don't believe anything is going to come of it."

http://youtu.be/_qlNEmpxQxI

___________________________________________________________________________
Sorry, niggas, for knowing shit.

situation handled

because of burglary fears, yet thought that SHE was a burglar?

So he's legless and blind?

google image search on your own.

https://twitter.com/angel1jones/status/301988182533218304/photo/1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make Money: http://jamesjenkins.acnrep.com
Save Money: http://jamesjenkins.acndirect.com

Damn

Nah, just kidding. Racist whites will still blame black people for all the violence in SA.

>South Africa has some of the world's highest murder rates,
>with nearly 50 people killed each day in the nation of 50
>million. It also has high rates of rape, other assaults,
>robbery and carjackings.
>
>U.N. statistics show South Africa has the second highest rate
>of shooting deaths in the world, second only to Colombia.
>
>---

he is not known as the most gracious man but does he have a huge temper?

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/qMRlSxU2AEdZk04fK5Ujqw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTM3NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2013-02-14T140948Z_2_CBRE91D13B500_RTROPTP_2_SAFRICA-PISTORIUS.JPG

https://twitter.com/anthonyjeselnik/status/302110533417594880

https://twitter.com/michaelianblack/status/302142634485481472

Even if she was a replicant

hopefully they don't make him stand on his stump

>hopefully they don't make him stand on his stump

But we let pity dominate the narrative, clouding the
other stuff because he has no legs.

I would say its an honest mistake, but nah. It ain't.

Media fuckin up.



----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

and the neighbors had called the authorities because they heard a loud argument prior to the shooting.


"best case" scenario, she walked in, he shot her by accident- take your ass to jail.

What the prosecutors are alledging- they argued, she hid in the bathroom, he shot through the bathroom door, and killed her.

He is obviously a raging mad, abusive dickhead who
shot his girlfriend.

Seriously, fuck this guy.

smh....this is one of those moments S.A. needs Winnie Mandela more than Nelson....because she would have spoke out and spit fire.

>But we let pity dominate the narrative, clouding the
>other stuff because he has no legs.

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-02-15-sympathy-and-support-as-pistorius-faces-states-wrath

And the entire narrative of news coverage of this tragedy is bullshit. He's getting sympathy just like that murderer from the KC Chiefs.

>http://mg.co.za/article/2013-02-15-sympathy-and-support-as-pistorius-faces-states-wrath
>
>And the entire narrative of news coverage of this tragedy is
>bullshit. He's getting sympathy just like that murderer from
>the KC Chiefs.

Both are terrible people for killing young women

Belcher did not have a history of abusive behavior, mostly
described as a nice guy who suffered from anxiety and
depression. He battled memory loss in months leading up to
the murder.

Pistorius beat his girlfriend's brain in with a cricket bat,
shot her, and lied about it. He also has a history of violent
behavior.


----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

The news coverage especially from traditional outlets is bullshit.

http://deadspin.com/5984829/reports-a-bloodied-cricket-bat-was-found-at-oscar-pistoriuss-home-and-reeva-steenkamps-skull-was-crushed

Reports: A Bloodied Cricket Bat Was Found At Oscar Pistorius’s Home And Reeva Steenkamp’s Skull Was “Crushed”

Sean Newell

South Africa's City Press is reporting that a bloodied cricket bat was found in Pistorius's home and that it may have been used against his girlfriend of four months, Reeva Steenkamp. Police are investigating several different scenarios involving the bat, including whether it was used against Steenkamp, if Pistorius used it to break through the bathroom door or if Steenkamp used it in self defense against Pistorius. It is also being reported that Steenkamp's skull was crushed. The bat was said to have been covered in "lots of blood."

In its report, City Press claims to have spoken to three sources close to the investigation. According to the sources, police have ruled out the possibility of the mistaken burglar angle and the state has a "rock-solid" case against Pistorius. We've already had reports that police were called hours earlier because of a loud argument and that Steenkamp was shot through the bathroom door. The Press sources have provided a more fleshed-out account of the events leading up to bathroom shooting.

Steenkamp was wearing her nightie at the time. When the police inspected Oscar's bedroom, they found her overnight bag and iPad on the floor. A holster for a 9mm pistol was found on Oscar's side of the bed.

The bedclothes were crumpled. "It was clear that both of them had slept in the bed," said a police source.

One cartridge was found in the bedroom and the police suspect Oscar may have "chased" her and fired the first shot before Steenkamp could lock herself inside the toilet.

"The suspicion is that the first shot, in the bedroom, hit her in the hip. She then ran and locked herself in the toilet. She was doubled over because of the pain. He fired three more shots. She probably covered her head, which is why the bullet also went through her hand," said a source.

It is unclear from this account how or when the cricket bat played into the altercation. Police requested that Pistorius's blood be analyzed for steroid and other drug use in anticipation for a "roid rage" defense.

Following the shooting, Pisotrius allegedly called his family.

Pistorius' father received a call from his son just after 3.20am on Thursday, asking him to come to his house. When his family arrived, Oscar was carrying Steenkamp's body down the stairs from his bedroom to the entrance hall. Her head and arms were "dangling".

He allegedly told his sister, Aimee, that something terrible had happened and that he had mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar. The police questioned Aimee and took a sworn statement from her.

Steenkamp was still breathing and Pistorius tried to resuscitate her in the foyer. Paramedics and police arrived on the scene and, minutes later, she was declared dead.

The Pistorius family is sticking to the burglary narrative for the time being. Henke Pistorius told The Telegraph that he believes the story Oscar reportedly told his sister Aimee because of the nature of South Africa and athletes in general.

"When you wake up in the middle of the night - and crime is so endemic in South Africa - what do you do if somebody is in the house? Do you think it's one of your family? Of course you don't," he said.

"When you are a sportsman, you act even more on instinct," he said. "It's instinct - things happen and that's what you do."

>Police requested that Pistorius's
>blood be analyzed for steroid and other drug use in
>anticipation for a "roid rage" defense.

>"When you are a sportsman, you act even more on instinct," he
>said. "It's instinct - things happen and that's what you do."

dont blame me!

I just read the write up on ESPN

they're claiming that they were in his home

in bed

the gun was under her side of the bed

he hears something in the bathroom

gets up

puts on his stumps

grabs his gun

(unaware that his GF is not in bed)

and opens fire into the bathroom

I say guilty

http://beargoggleson.com/files/2009/09/fugitive_one-armed_man.jpg

They're claiming they found some unknown substance (rumored to be testosterone) in his home

an unregistered .38

only thing I don't like is the dude saying he heard them arguing

lives 4 blocks away

if they get a neighbor to corroborate

I think he's cooked

they are practically putting him on trial just to determine if he's eligible for bail. I'm waiting to hear what was on that ipad.

What i'm confused about is how their bathroom is set up. Did the toilet itself have a door that separated it from the shower/sink etc.?

whatever the case, what kinda burglar hides in a bathroom and if it was me, i think i woulda woke my wife up and told her to leave the room before i started bucking off shots in case dude bucks back.

he can try to explain some things

but this is where he's going to have a problem

they're claiming it's premeditated because he put on his stumps

I don't think you can explain how you have enough presence of mind

to find your stumps

put them on

then find your gun

and not notice your GF isn't in bed

and it's not so much a burglar hiding in the bathroom that's the problem

it's what is a burglar doing in the bathroom

stealing your towels?

why would a burglar lock themselves in a bathroom

in a house owned by a dude without legs

if you think you're busted

you get the F outta there, right?

dude might just be an ginormous panicky pussy
____________

Dallas Heatvricks BACK 2 BACK CHAMPS!!

>dude might just be an ginormous panicky pussy

but there is something called imperfect self defense that can bump it down to manslaughter in a minority of states

I'm sure the judge will have leniency

for an Olympic star without priors (I'm assuming on the priors)

or has that been debunked?

She was shot in the head though. I don't see how he if he is yelling that she didn't yell.

Secondly in a situation like that, you reach for your gat but don't know that your girl isn't in bed? "LYING!" (c) lying cat

Beyond all that, even if his version stands, he shot and killed her- do not pass go, go directly to jail for at least 10 years.

you got a story, cool

still doesn't change the fact that you shot your GF

I have no idea what the requirements for pre-meditated murder are in SA

but getting geared up is enough for me

he knew he was gonna shoot somebody

I don't find "I thought I was shooting somebody else" a reasonable defense

even if it does hold up

enough for premeditation.

to bash in the door, but reports of blood being on the bat are false.

Hilton Botha gave testimony that Pistorius story matched the crime scene that the police found. Guess what? The state prosecution wasn't expecting that so have drummed up a previously dropped attempted murder charge of Brotha in 2011.

Retaliation for not following the script?



And today, lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel is making a pig's ear of his case. Judge just openly started talking about various downgraded charges (willful homicide? what ?)...


As expected, its looking like money + corruption of SA legal system may get tink tink off.

next thing you know, Tink Tink's lawyer is going to say, "If the cricket bat was not swung, the jury must be hung!" or some shit like that....

is this culpable homicide thing, by the defendants own testimony. Culpable homicide has recently carried the penalty of 3 years in jail OR R24000. Which is about $2,500.



Bizzaro world law going on.

they going through all the evidence.

BAIL...

What the shit is up with this legal system?

All CNN does is flash the same picture for 8 hours.

Its on mute too, so that doesnt help

For it just being a bail hearing, he has recapped the past three days of activity down to an agonizing definition of what bail is.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/8991348/oscar-pistorius-violated-basic-firearms-rules-experts-say

somebody should have told old Oscar

5 months

out of a 10 year bid

= South African mathematics

Robert Durst would like to have a word. Be careful alone with him.

Yet another rich, famous athlete getting away with murder (literally), from South Africa to Los Angeles.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34993002

I'm assuming

Pistol appealed the original verdict

and the new judge found the original ruling was wrong

and bumped homie up to murder from manslaughter?

sounds like double jeopardy IMO, but with this being SA I guess that's how they do...?

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Oscar Pistorius will try to appeal his murder conviction in South Africa's highest court, his lawyer said Tuesday, possibly extending a legal battle that began nearly three years ago when the double-amputee Olympian shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death in his home.

As Pistorius sat in the dock in a wood-paneled courtroom, defense lawyer Barry Roux unveiled the plan to take the sensational murder case to an 11-judge court known for abolishing the death penalty and affirming basic human rights after the 1994 end of white minority rule in South Africa.

If the Constitutional Court chooses not to hear the case, Pistorius will be back in a lower court on April 18 for the start of a sentencing process, meaning he will remain under house arrest under bail terms announced Tuesday for at least the next several months.

Pistorius had already been living under restrictions at his uncle's home in Pretoria since October after serving one year of a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter. That conviction, however, was thrown out last week when an appeals court convicted the former track star of murdering Steenkamp, a model who was in a toilet cubicle when her boyfriend fired through the door on Valentine's Day 2013.

Prosecutors said he killed her after an argument; Pistorius said he killed her by mistake, thinking there was an intruder in the house.

On Tuesday, Pistorius was granted bail of the equivalent of $692 in South African currency - he paid an amount 100 times higher when he first appeared in court for the shooting, though he was not placed under house arrest at that time.

Judge Aubrey Ledwaba also instructed that Pistorius be placed under electronic monitoring and may only leave his uncle's home between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Bail is often denied in cases where a conviction is overturned for a harsher verdict, but Pistorius' compliance with previous bail and house arrest conditions may have influenced the judge's decision, said Manny Witz, a South African legal expert.

At the Constitutional Court, Witz said, Pistorius' lawyers could try to argue that the Supreme Court of Appeal convicted him of murder based on a factual finding when it questioned whether Pistorius really thought he was in danger on the night he shot Steenkamp.

In South Africa, appeals must be based on questions around the interpretation of the law, rather than questions based on facts surrounding a case.

Prof. Stephen Tuson at the Wits School of Law in Johannesburg said there was no guarantee that the Constitutional Court would hear Pistorius' case even though it has the authority to hear any matter, including those deemed to be non-constitutional.

The April 18 date for sentencing will allow the Constitutional Court time to decide whether it will take Pistorius' case, said prosecution spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku. The defense has 15 days to submit appeal papers to the court, he said.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel was doubtful about Pistorius' appeal prospects.

''We're not convinced that the accused has made out a good case and that his application to the Constitutional Court will be successful, but we acknowledge that he has the right to bring such an application,'' said Nel.

The appeals court had said that regardless of who was behind the door, Pistorius should have known someone could be killed if he fired multiple times. Under South African law, a person can be convicted of murder if he or she foresaw the possibility of someone dying through their actions and went ahead anyway.

Earlier, the state argued that Pistorius may try to flee, and asked for strict bail conditions but did not say he should be sent back to prison before sentencing. Under the bail terms, Pistorius may not travel further than a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius from his uncle's mansion and must hand over his passport to the police.

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.

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http://www.theweek.co.uk/oscar-pistorius/53387/why-oscar-pistoriuss-request-to-appeal-murder-conviction-failed

Oscar Pistorius has been denied the chance to appeal against his murder conviction, three years after the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that an appeal would have no realistic prospect of success. The decision clears the way for an April sentencing, reports CNN.


Pistorius was initially convicted of culpable homicide in 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison for killing Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria. The former Paralympian shot her through a locked bathroom door.

He was released last year to serve the rest of his sentence under house detention at his uncle's home in Pretoria.

In December, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned his conviction on a point of law and he was found guilty of murder. He was released on bail with an electronic monitoring device and only permitted to travel a limited distance between 7am and noon.

The original verdict rested on Judge Thokozile Masipa accepting Pistorius's claim that he believed he was firing at an intruder. However, as the athlete had shot another person, whoever he believed it to be, he was found guilty of culpable homicide.

Judge Masipa held back from a murder conviction on the very specific legal principle of dolus eventualis, saying there was not enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius had foreseen his actions would result in a death. It was on this point that the Supreme Court of Appeal disagreed.

Arguing for an appeal, Pistorius's legal team said the second court had ignored his vulnerability as a person with a disability and had wrongly rejected the original judgment that he had acted out of fear when he opened fire. However, this was dismissed by the Constitutional Court on 3 March, meaning resentencing will take place on 18 April.

What will happen at the resentencing?
Pistorius will return to the high court, where a judge will reconsider his sentence.

The defence is expected to put forward mitigating factors in a bid to negotiate a lesser sentence than the prescribed minimum of 15 years in prison, minus time already served.

Criminal law expert Tyrone Maseko told South Africa's 702 radio station there would have to be "substantial and compelling" reasons to depart from the minimum sentence. He said it was "not easy" to succeed, unless there are concrete reasons why leniency should be shown.

A spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa has confirmed the state will be seeking the full 15-year term.

The defence and prosecution may well set out their cases in front of the original trial judge, Thokozile Masipa, although Maseko said another judge could stand in if she is not available.

Commentators in South Africa have described the resentencing as the "final conclusion" in the trial, which began in 2014 and has crossed several courts within the criminal justice system. But while Pistorius cannot appeal his conviction, he could theoretically appeal his sentence.

Oscar Pistorius 'enrolled on law degree at a London university

9 December

Oscar Pistorius revealed yesterday that he is studying a business with law degree through a London university, as he was bailed for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

In his affidavit at the bail hearing, he said: "I have enrolled at the London School of Economics for a BSc business with law degree. I study by way of correspondence and need daily access to the internet for this purpose."

However, LSE has said there is no business and law BSc taught at the university. The Guardian suggests Pistorius might have been referring to a BSc in management and law, which is offered as an international programme by the University of London and for which LSE provides academic direction.

LSE is one of the colleges of the University of London and a world-leading social science institution.

The University of London website states that the degree is suitable for people who wish to pursue a career in management; are seeking employment where a demonstrated ability for logical reasoning is required; and would like to study courses that have relevance to their experience and local environment.

Students have between three and eight years to complete the course, or a minimum of two years on the graduate entry route, while fees are £4,205 or £3,175 as a graduate.

Pistorius began a business management degree at the University of Pretoria in 2006 but it is "unclear if he ever completed it as his sporting career took off", says The Guardian.

Pistorius, who shot and killed Steenkamp in February 2013, was yesterday granted bail of R10,000 (£460) after his defence lawyer Barry Roux argued that he could not afford to pay any more.

He is planning to appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal's decision to change his conviction of culpable homicide to murder.



Oscar Pistorius has been released on bail until he returns to court in April next year.

The athlete's conviction for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was last week changed from culpable homicide to murder.

Today, his defence lawyer Barry Roux revealed that an application for leave to appeal would be brought to the Constitutional Court.

He requested that Pistorius remains at the home of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, until the appeal or – if the appeal is unsuccessful – he returns to the High Court for sentencing.

Judge Aubrey Ledwaba agreed to release Pistorius on bail of 10,000 rand (around £460) and postponed the case until 18 April 2016.

Ledwaba said Pistorius had proven that he is not a flight risk and had kept his bail conditions, even when facing possible life imprisonment, when charged with premeditated murder before and during his original trial.

Pistorius will return to his uncle's house but must not leave the district of Tshwane and must surrender his passport. The athlete will be electronically tagged and must submit travel plans to his investigating officer.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel did not oppose bail, but argued that Pistorius needed 24/7 monitoring now that he has been convicted of murder. "We feel strongly that he should not leave the house at any time," he said.

However, the judge said this was not in the interests of justice. Pistorius will therefore be able to leave the house every day between 7am and midday and can travel within a 20km radius of his uncle's home.

Pistorius was present in court, but spoke only to confirm that the affidavit was in his name, reports The Guardian.

Defence lawyer Roux told the court that Pistorius could no longer afford the much higher bail of one million rand, initially agreed when Pistorius was first released after Steenkamp's death in February 2013. The 10,000 rand must be paid by this Friday.