Oscar pistorious being released on parole

Chestnut, would you have found him guilty or not guilty of shooting four times into a small space where he thought someone was lurking, knowing that it would possibly kill or at least seriously injure the person there?

I think it was the right decision to send him to jail and with his sort of personality and no anger management strategies in place I think he should have remained there. He is quite likely an even angrier person than he was before.

Judging by some of the comments on here it's probably just as well it wasn't trial by jury. He would have been hung, drawn and quartered by people who have decided he's guilty even though they have never set foot in court.

He is a murdering scumbag who should still be in prison. The life sentence is for the family of that poor woman he shot and I have NEVER believed the intruder tale. He had anger management issues. I hope he is banned from going in the same area as his victim's family.

Anger management courses are much less likely to be effective if the participant is in denial.. OP still denies the charges for which he was convicted

Pistorius gets out on parole -- the girl he murdered has NO parole. The comments saying it was understandable must be gullible candidates for any scam. Sure, that country is violent, but he heard a noise, knew his girlfriend wasn't in the bed, and still shot through a loo door. Given the high likelihood that any '"noise" was her, all he had to do was say "is that you" before blasting holes through the door and the person behind it? As several have said, he had a history of arrogant behaviour and gun use (actually gun ABuse). If the incident had been the other way round, no way would SHE be getting early parole for killing HIM.

Oodles Anger management courses don’t work? Well of course not, if your expectation is that you will attend and be cured of your anger issues. They aren’t only attended by abusive men. I’ve taught a number of women who were the abuser in their relationship. I’ve also taught people who weren’t in a relationship at all because personal relationships aren’t the only source of anger management problems.

One reason I'm pleased we don't have guns in uk. I know they are allowed in certain circumstances buy happy that not every tom,dick and Harry can have one

Thanks for your interesting post Mazz21

I lived in SA for 19 years mostly in Cape Town where we felt a lot safer than we did during our short time in (then) Johannesburg.

I went back to CT on holiday recently and stayed for a while with friends who live in a gated community with very high walls and a 24/7 manned security checkpoint on arrival/exit. I’d imagine this is a similar setup to the complex OP was living in. This should have given anyone living there an added sense of protection and their security team would be the first point of call if you suspect an intruder. They would be minutes away.

I personally feel that OP due to his sporting success was treated as a top celebrity and led a very privileged life. I think he was always quite arrogant and used to getting everything his own way.

I believe the pair of them had a row that night and that RS escaped to the loo and that OP knew she was in there. He shot in a moment of rage. Whoever he was shooting at wouldn’t have survived that bombardment. Had he killed a burglar we would have heard nothing of this.

Guns are too easily carried in SA and I’ve witnessed many unfortunate incidents when someone has had too much to drink and feel that they’ve been disrespected or attacked who immediately go to their gun.

I think the arrest and guilty verdict would have given OP a real shock as I’m sure he thought he’d get away with it. The reality of losing his career and of going to prison must have changed him.

Yes, that’s how parole works. For all offenders, not just the well-publicised ones.

Many people have found that anger managment courses don't work, most abusive men manage to control their anger when it is advantageous for them to do so, they save their anger for their victims. They can find other ways of control and abuse that are more controlled. They do anger management for their own advantage not because they are unable to control themselves
www.healthyplace.com/blogs/verbalabuseinrelationships/2012/01/anger-management-likely-to-increase-domestic-abuse

I don’t know if he is guilty or not. I do wonder what prison was for thought, if it’s simply containment it seems pointless. Surely anger management should have been addressed whilst in prison, rehabilitation in society should be the aim for people to be fit for release.

I totally understand that Aysgarth I was once in a relationship that I was afraid to finish It’s not a comfortable place to be Poor girl

His parole conditions include attending anger management classes. Reeva had told her friend that she was scared of him but afraid of what he would do if she told him she wanted out of the relationship.
I believe it was murder. Although nothing will bring her back, I don't think he should be released early. Reeva's family are still grieving.

Buttonjugs

I find it incredibly difficult to believe that he thought there was an intruder. If I was in bed with someone the first thing I would do is wake the person next to me and say I think someone is in the house. The first thing I would assume is that it might be the person who is normally lying next to me and I would check they were there if I didn’t wake them up. I believe he was ina temper and Reeva locked herself in the bathroom because she was scared.

You haven't read all the details, have you?

You pick up a gun, run to where the victim is and fire it - you have thought.

Don’t get me wrong I definitely don’t think he intended killing her I think he was beyond anger and acted WITHOUT thinking

most prisoners get released early on what they call good behaviour, and he will have conditions with his parole. he was found guilty, but the only person who knows the truth is him, he is a 37 year old man who has lost everything and only has himself to blame, one of the conditions is he can't talk to the media until his sentence ends in 2029.

I didn't believe the story about an intruder, I thought he probably was angry and maybe didn't intend to actually kill her but nevertheless that's what he did and he deserves to be punished. Early release, just as in this country, devalues life.

As previously stated, I am also surprised if he has been granted parole without doing anger management course whilst inside, surely these would be completed prior to any parole/ release, or how could the parole board assess him for behaviour changes ?

I was an Occupational Therapist in an NHS mental health setting for 22 years. I worked with many patients on a one to one basis and in groups to help them learn more appropriate strategies to manage their anger issues. I delivered many anger management courses when I moved over into education including in a prison setting.

Do they work? Yes for some, not so for others and the reasons some individuals do better than others are complex, many and varied. All my work with people with mental health difficulties was based on a CBT (Cognitive Behavourial Therapy) approach which relies on, particularly with regard to anger management, the individual accepting that other people do not ‘make’ them angry, and that they, not the person they are interacting with, are responsible for how they respond to anger provoking situations. If an individual cannot take that concept on board, we awe both wasting our time and some people are very entrenched in that belief. .

When asked to write reports on progress, I could only state that the individual had been taught strategies to manage their anger issues. I could not of course guarantee that they would chose to use them as and when the situation arose. Not being around them in those instances, I had no way of measuring how well they were implementing what they had learned, other than feedback in class and the thank you cards and positive response from those involved with them .

CBT is not a cure. It’s an approach that will work for you as long as you choose to use it. None of us react appropriately 100% of the time, but it is certainly possible to get a grip on your anger issues.

Oscar Pistorius killed another human being deliberately. Whether he knew/thought it was his girlfriend only he knows. I hope, and yes GSM pray, that the anger management course he has/had will be successful because he surely needs all the help he can get to avoid anything like this ever happening again.

BlueBelle

Chestnut have you never encounter anyone (mostly men) enraged beyond belief when a woman doesn’t do what they want.. it’s white rage completely beyond their thought process But without a gun he would not have killed her
There was a reason the poor girl was hiding in the toilet trying to call for help she hadn’t gone for a wee

The place to run to when an abusive partner threatens violence is the bathroom where there will probably be a lock on the door.

SA is a scary place to live. People live in a heightened state of fear even in their own homes. Especially in their own homes.

We know that. Why would that be?
Many have emigrated to Australia but their arrogance, sense of superiority and disregard for others can unfortunately annoy their new neighbours in rural communities.