Oscar pistorious being released on parole

The verdict of culpable homicide was overturned and he was found guilty of murder.

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

It's not relevant whether I have encountered anyone in a rage. You have presented one version of events and I have presented another. Mine is backed up by the psychiatrist who conducted a mental health assessment on him and stated that due to his disability Pistorius was more likely to respond to any threat with "fight" rather than "flight". In other words he would be terrified because of his inability to escape or fight back. I can't imagine how frightening that would be.

Unfortunately no-one was there and as far as I can see there is no actual proof either way, so I fail to see how this can be classed as murder rather than culpable homicide. You have to give the defendant the benefit of the doubt surely. If they had the death penalty then Pistorius would now be dead with no actual proof he was guilty.

Which just means he didn’t wake up that morning and think
I m going to kill my girlfriend…. but because he was angry and seeing the proverbial red mist he did kill her anyway but does that make it less of a crime when it has the same outcome I think he has served a very short sentence fir taking a life

Another assessment of his past history showed a man with a quick temper, previous girlfriends spoke of his issues with them, plus the fact he was taking steriods.
Why didn't he phone sercurity/ police?

All the evidence was before the court and he was convicted of murder. In this country a charge has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. We have only his story about the intruder. Whether he believed there was an intruder or not, his actions were deliberate and he would have known they would have caused the death of, or grievous bodily harm to, the person in the loo. That was his intention when firing the gun. I don’t know what further proof anyone who wasn’t in the courtroom would want.

I suppose we will never be absolutely sure, one way or the other.

Those of us who've witnessed the rage of men when they feel slighted or insulted - or challenged - will probably continue to believe that he shot her in a fit of uncontrolled anger.

Although the text messages between the couple prior to the shooting cannot be used to define their relationship, those from her clearly indicate that he had some problems with anger-control, and it appears he made some rather unpleasant accusations against Reeva. But - some messages also indicated that they were a loving couple as well, so...

Of course, like most others who believe he murdered her when the "red mist" blinded his sense, it's only a gut feeling. So I admit I could be wrong.

However, his release is not going to be a happy event for him, the conditions of his parole will still see him a captive - just in a better environment.

Germanshepherdsmum

All the evidence was before the court and he was convicted of murder. In this country a charge has to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. We have only his story about the intruder. Whether he believed there was an intruder or not, his actions were deliberate and he would have known they would have caused the death of, or grievous bodily harm to, the person in the loo. That was his intention when firing the gun. I don’t know what further proof anyone who wasn’t in the courtroom would want.

Yes he killed her, there is no doubt of that, it's the intention that is in doubt, whether he wanted to kill her or whether it was a dreadful mistake. There is no actual proof either way, and the two scenarios are very different. He would have been terrified of an intruder and firing the gun would be an adrenaline-fuelled reflex action, not necessarily a deliberate intention to kill.

Their relationship seems to have been very loving. She gave him a Valentine Card that very day saying she loved him, the day she was killed. He was apparently so devastated by her death that he was really ill and suffered from PTSD.

Just a reminder that there was no jury. Would the outcome be different if the evidence was presented to a jury, we'll never know.

Whoever was in the loo would have been killed or grievously wounded by the gunshots, fired intentionally, and he would have known that. He intended to kill or grievously harm whoever was in that very small space.

I agree with chestnut. I watched the trial through the African TV and watched both lawyers . If there was a jury there may have been a different outcome. A tragic accident. There was also a case in pretoria of a father who shot his daughter thinking exactly the same thing as pistorius..there was an intruder in the house. He was not sent to prison

Oh I don’t for a minute think he intended to kill her I think they had a row she walked away from the bed and he lost it completely and couldn’t stop himself I believe he was in a major rage that someone walked away from him
I have seen that rage
I believe he knew it was her I don’t believe the intruder bit and I m sure if he was in normal mode he wouldn’t have killed her.
Yes I think they loved each other
I also think he was beside himself with remorse when he realised what he’d done he was sick in court when seeing the results of the gunshots
It’s a mess I hate guns with a passion without a gun she might have taken a pasting but would be alive

When our life is threatened our first priority would be to save ourselves and it would be a reflex action. Therefore he may not have had time to make an informed decision and think about his intentions. I doubt any of us have been in a life threatening situation like this, so we can't possibly know how we would react in that split second. Also, if we are female then we don't think like a man, we don't have missing legs and and we don't have a gun. How would we react if we were in that situation, who knows?

Accident? I think not. The gun was not fired accidentally. You cannot compare the two cases because there are significant differences - I doubt the father slept in the same bed as his daughter.

No sympathy. He murdered her. Her parents have a life sentence. He should too.

I did say in my original post that pistorius being released from prison would be controversial. We are all entitled to our opinions. In my own family I am the only one who has sympathy for him. I've heard all the scenarios etc but I'm not swayed into believing it was delibarate

Many women are killed by partners in a rage who had no intention of ending their lives but the fact remains that they took a life and caused endless heartache for the woman's family.
This case is no different and all my sympathy goes to the poor woman who's life was cut short and her family.

Yes and many of those men have an 'explanation' as to what happened. Many of them are described as 'lovely family men'.

My sympathy’s are with Reeva and her family. That beautiful young woman is dead and her family are the ones serving a life sentence.

I have no doubts he killed her in a violent uncontrollable
rage.He knew where Revva was hiding and why she was hiding.
He knew exactly what he was doing at the time.

Germanshepherdsmum

Whoever was in the loo would have been killed or grievously wounded by the gunshots, fired intentionally, and he would have known that. He intended to kill or grievously harm whoever was in that very small space.

You are right.

OP had what was described as an "obsession" with guns. A video-clip was also shown in court - OP firing at a watermelon... "it's not as soft as brains, but it's a zombie stopper" he commented.

He could not have possibly been unaware that his heavy-calibre gun would've killed or very badly injured whoever was behind the door.

It was also said in court that neighbours heard sounds from his house that indicated a 'row' that night.

If his story is true - that he woke up, heard noises and thought there was an intruder... all feasible so far - why did he not knowing that Reeva was also in the house simply shout out "who's there?" or, "is that you, Reeva?".

I know we are supposed to accept that he believed Reeva was in bed when he fired those shots... would any sane person, however alarmed, just not make sure before shooting? He didn't need to go into the bathroom and risk being overcome by an intruder - he just needed to shout her name and ask if it was her in there.

Then - he went back to the bedroom and discovered Reeva was not there?

I know it's true that we don't know how we would react under threat. But, if he genuinely believed there was an intruder in the house - knowing that Reeva was in the house with him- would he not also just check instinctively to make sure she was OK? After all, she would also be under threat from an intruder.

I just cannot believe him. Neither does Reeva's mother. Though she has forgiven him - for the sake of her sanity.

I have no idea if he was guilty or innocent.

People get released early for "good behaviour".

So my thought is, he is eligible.

fancythat

I have no idea if he was guilty or innocent.

People get released early for "good behaviour".

So my thought is, he is eligible.

He's not really being released in the sense that he's free!

I'm not sure it's for "good behaviour" - rather that he's fulfilled the detention period required to be considered for parole.

So, yes, it's simply that he's eligible.

go and live in his relative mansion boo hoo

I don't think he killed her deliberately but neither do I think he thought there was an intruder. I think they had an argument and he shot through the door to frighten her. I think he was quite a controlling man who might have had rages but my experiences lead me to believe he was probably capable of a more controlled anger too.
There will never be a long enough sentence for the parents and I suspect that the view that he is not a danger to wider society is probably what coloured the decision to allow him to leave prison. Maybe the experience will have shocked him into working on his anger management and controlling behaviour but I doubt it. I certainly think that any woman involved with him might be in more danger than wider society.
He seems to have quite strict rules he has to live under so I can see why he has been freed but I can see why women would see this as just another man who gets a better deal than they do.

I believe part of his parole conditions include attending courses on anger management and gender based violence.

A terrible tragedy. Pray for Reeva. Pray for OP who ruined his life in fear or anger.

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.