Pistorius

This is a good article and explanation on the new verdict - and it says that far from the SA judicial system being a mess, praise is due for the way this case was handled:

But only having a judge deciding an outcome. I call that awful justice as a whole.

Below the belt for speaking the truth? So we must be selective when it comes to speaking the truth . Double standards again

Do not say the parents took payments from the man who killed their daughter but do say I know what happened that night even if I was in another country not in the same room

I appreciate what you say about the fear of crime in South Africa Jane10 as my niece is married to a South African and lived there for some years. She always slept with a gun under her pillow if her husband was away. Thankfully they now live in the UK.

I would feel more sympathy for Oscar Pistorius if he had owned up to what he did instead of giving differing versions in court. As Judge Masipa and the appeal Judges said, he was an unreliable witness. As the only living witness, that must cast doubt on his story.

The key factor for me is that regardless of who was in that locked toilet, Reeva or an intruder, he must have known that firing four high velocity bullets into it would result in their death. He is the author of his own fate and my sympathies are with Reeva's parents.

Its too simplistic to just call it murder. Apart from anything else it wasn't premeditated. There are many mitigating circumstances that a straight murder charge doesn't take into consideration.
The desperate fear of break ins was quite shocking to me when I was in SA. Armed guards at hotels, razor wire round walls, iron bars across bedroom doors etc. I am not exaggerating. I experienced all of these. A great fear, especially of women is rape and infection with HIV. There are security firms which will attend alarms with guns. Unless the person employing them calls out the correct password they can be shot too. Its just not like here. It was a relief to return. All this underpins Oscar's instinctive behaviour on that dark night. Those absolutely were not crocodile tears. He's devastated and life as he knows it is at an end. No winners.

I think we have to bear in mind that Riva's family will probably have been plagued by journalists for months and months. And we should not judge people who have been victims of such awful tragedy and all the publicity involved.

This is a good article and explanation on the new verdict - and it says that far from the SA judicial system being a mess, praise is due for the way this case was handled:

theconversation.com/oscar-pistorius-verdict-raises-the-bar-for-south-african-judiciary-51770

The article quite rightly too is sympathetic to Judge Masipa because of the legal complexities of the trial - and in a trial that was played out in full view of millions of people. She by the way now has to pass sentence again, the case goes back to her.

I have always thought it was murder, even if he really thought ( rather far fetched) that a burglar had locked himself in the loo, he then intended to kill the said burglar by blasting that kind of a powerful gun through the door several times.

Below the belt comments anniebach about a murdered woman's family.

Rosequartz, yes parents want justice but Hello magazine photoshoots ?

I've always thought that his story was totally dodgy. Of course it was murder.
If you do the crime, you serve the time...However a little part of me agrees with the thing about him being a troubled soul.

They were presumably sharing a bed.
He must have known she was not beside him in bed.
She was in the bathroom with the door locked.
Anyone would check where their OH was before blasting off with a gun.

QED

I really can't understand how it could be deemed to be manslaughter, even if he had not known it was his girlfriend - and I found that difficult to believe. He shot several times through the door and would surely have known than whoever was behind it would be grievously injured or dead.

I thought it was ridiculous he was let out so soon and I'm glad that this seems to have been rectified - but it does seem a bit of a mess up to me.

Said on the radio that the only higher court would be the constitutional court, which is unlikely to be of any use to him.

hit out in anger then suffer remorse
He hasn't looked particularly remorseful anniebach, more intent on saving his own skin with some crocodile tears.
And, even if he is remorseful, justice has to be done.
I thought Riva's family was very dignified; perhaps they had pictures taken because they didn't believe the right verdict had been reached and wanted publicity and consequent proper justice for their child.
I certainly would not rest if it was my daughter until the perpetrator served an appropriate sentence.

Can he appeal? This is the appeal by the prosecution

The right verdict this time I think.
If you have an OH and you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, would you lock the door?
I doubt it. There was a reason why she locked herself in the bathroom.

The cocktail of steroids, availability of guns, lifelong disability and the incredible level of paranoia about breakins in South Africa was a recipe for disaster. Suddenly jerking awake, hyperaroused, grabbing gun and acting in a nanosecond? Manslaughter.

no good sorry, tired.

It just goes to show that continually telling your children they are absolutely fantastic and putting them on a pedestal does not good whatsoever. Yes, encourage them, disability or not, love them, obviously, but do not make them think that they are above the law and can do whatever they want to whoever they please.

Just know this will come out so wrong .

I don't believe his defence and I think yes murder, but he must be a deeply disturbed man and dif be use steroids or iligal substances. No doubt he had a troubled life and had to fight hard to get to the top, possibly his tears were genuine , hit out in anger then suffer remorse

The law in South Africa is Roman Dutch, very different from the justice system here in the UK.
There is no jury system only a judge who hears the evidence and hands down the verdict and sentence. In this case this was revised by the Supreme Court of Appeal who has now found Pistorius guilty of murder and ordered that the trial court, which had wrongly convicted him of the lesser charge of culpable homicide, set an appropriate sentence.

The appeal court, in a unanimous judgment, found that the Pretoria High Court had erred in its application of the legal principle of dolus eventualis, and that Pistorius had clearly foreseen that he could kill somebody when he fired four shots into a locked toilet door in 2013, fatally injuring his girlfriend Reeva.

Justice has finally been done and he will serve an appropriate sentence in jail, not under house arrest in his uncle's luxury home in Pretoria!

Her parents were able to control their grief to have photo shoots for a magazine posing where they had scattered the poor girls ashes, they also accepted money from the man who killed her for loss of her earnings. They did give money back when they sold their book. I am sorry their daughter died and am sure they are distressed but making money from her death ? No

Totally agree with you, Cher. If you wake up in the night and your partner is not there you assume they are in the loo. You do not, therefore, pick up your shotgun and fire it at the loo door FOUR times, or even once.

The only thing I can think of in his defence is that without his blades he must be only something like 4 feet tall and so felt very vulnerable. Perhaps in those circumstances, thinking there may be an intruder, you would act first and think later. Even so, it's a weird reaction unless he forgot the GF was staying the night.

RIP Reena.

This whole 'trial' was an absolute travesty and if he had been a black athlete his feet would not have touched the ground going to jail. He only stayed out of jail because he is who he is.

When you are in bed with someone and you wake up and that beds empty - what do you do? I always shout out and ask my other half is he in loo or everything ok etc. That girl was staying the night, he thought someone was in the house but he was more concerned for HIS OWN SAFETY? It never occurred to him that Reeva was somewhere in the house? Utter rubbish! Then all the arguing the neighbours heard. Something was not right.

The strange thing is, years ago at the height of his fame, I NEVER liked that man, always thought he was arrogant, conceited and had a terrible attitude to other athletes. As for all the weeping in the court etc. he should have got an Oscar. That trial was all about - HIM. Poor Reeva was very much forgotten apart from her poor family who had to sit through that charade. I have a daughter myself, not far off Reeva's age and I cannot imagine what her family and friends must have gone through to have him waltz off at the end of it. I'm glad if there has been justice for Reeva and her family and friends.

Sorry, my post might sound as if I'm sympathetic towards him. Not in the least...deserves the murder conviction and a long sentence. Just think the way it's been handled is laughable.

Unless we were actually there it is very difficult to know what really happened; but shooting four times into a locked bathroom knowing that someone (whoever?) was in there seems pretty well like intent to me. But I guess he might claim self-defence as he says he thought it was an intruder, although that seems a bit thin. He knew his GF was in the house (and presumably knew she was in the loo); and if he thought it was an intruder, then four shots at a captive individual seems a bit OTT.

Murder it is then....... what a sad scenario after he had overcome his disabilities to such a spectacular degree.