S.Africa: Another disgusting murder: Oscar Pistorius’s killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

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[An American lady wrote to me saying how shocked she was by the suggestions that President FW De Klerk may have had his wife Marike murdered. Then she mentioned the Oscar Pistorius case. Jan]

The American lady wrote:
The one I found equally shocking was the white athlete that so savagely murdered his girlfriend and got away with it.

I replied:
If this is new to you… stick around in the coming months. 🙂 I have some very interesting surprises.

I know who you’re referring to, Oscar Pistorius. He was that legless guy who was loved by the world and then he made a total asshole of himself by shooting his lovely girlfriend.

He didn’t "get away with it". What happened to him is a perfect example of the absolute worthlessness of South African law under Black rule.

He is still in prison. First they gave him a bunch of light, weak sentences but they did eventually jail him for murder.

However, he will get out of jail. In South Africa you can be out of jail for murder after 10 years. So he’ll probably be out in the next few years.

He had such an awesome future, and then he behaved like a true idiot. He even claimed he mistook her for an "intruder".

What a load of nonsense.

Now if we had a proper justice system he would have been hanged for what he did. But, I’m afraid South Africa is a place where murder is not a serious crime unless it is a White person who kills a Black.

Then they try to lock you up forever. Like Clive Derby Lewis – a true White hero.

Here is the wikipedia detail on the murder of Reeva Steenkamp:-

Murder of Reeva Steenkamp

In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria.[156][157][158] Pistorius acknowledged that he shot Steenkamp four times, causing her death, but claimed that he mistook her for a possible intruder.[159]

Pistorius’s trial for murder began on 3 March 2014, in the Pretoria High Court.[160][161] On 20 May 2014, the trial proceedings were adjourned until 30 June to enable Pistorius to undergo psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he could be held criminally responsible for shooting Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa agreed to a request for the evaluation by prosecutor Gerrie Nel after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster testified for the defence that she had diagnosed Pistorius with generalised anxiety disorder.[162] On 30 June 2014, the trial resumed after the evaluation reports said Pistorius could be held criminally responsible. The state prosecutor was quoted as saying, "Mr. Pistorius did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have rendered him not criminally responsible for the offence charged".[163] The defense closed its case on 8 July and closing arguments were heard on 7 and 8 August.[164][165]

On 12 September, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and one firearm-related charge of reckless endangerment related to discharging a firearm in a restaurant. He was found not guilty of two other firearm-related charges relating to possession of illegal ammunition and firing a firearm through the sunroof of a car.[10][11][12] On 21 October 2014, he received a prison sentence of a maximum of five years for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for the separate reckless endangerment conviction.[13][14]

Prison term

In June 2015, Pistorius was recommended for early release, as early as August. South African Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise told the BBC of the decision by the case management committee at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, where Pistorius was being held: "Under South African law he is eligible for release under ‘correctional supervision’ having served a sixth of his sentence."[166]

After Pistorius served approximately one-sixth of his prison term, his release date to house arrest was announced for 21 August 2015. This release was based on good behaviour and the fact that he was not considered a danger to the community. Pistorius was expected to remain under house arrest and correctional supervision, and was expected to perform community service as part of his continuing sentence. Regardless of his release from prison, Pistorius could not return to official athletic competition until the whole five years of his sentence was complete.[167] On 19 August 2015, his release was unexpectedly blocked by South Africa’s Justice Minister Michael Masutha. According to Masutha, the parole board’s decision for early release was "premature." Legal experts noted that the move could have been due to political pressure and had implications for other cases of pending early release.[168] He was released from prison on 19 October 2015.[169]

Case appeal

On 4 November 2014, prosecutors applied to the sentencing judge for permission to appeal the culpable homicide verdict, stating that the five-year prison term was "shockingly light, inappropriate and would not have been imposed by any reasonable court".[170] Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled on 10 December 2014 that the prosecution could challenge her ruling of acquitting Pistorius of premeditated murder and convicting him of the lesser charge of culpable homicide; however she ruled that the state could not appeal the length of the sentence. The case was then set for appeal in front of a five-person panel at the Supreme Court of Appeal.[171]

The date for prosecutors to submit court papers outlining their arguments was set for 17 August 2015, and the date for the defence team’s response was set for 17 September 2015. The date for the appeal hearing was set for November 2015.[172] The prosecutors’ argument rested on Judge Masipa’s application of the legal principle of dolus eventualis (whether an accused did actually foresee the outcome of his actions, rather than whether he or she should have), and that the judge made an error in concluding Pistorius had not foreseen that by firing four shots through the closed door of the toilet cubicle, he would kill or injure whoever was behind the door.[173]

The appeal was heard on 3 November 2015, in the Supreme Court of Appeal, Bloemfontein. The matter was heard before five Supreme Court judges. By a unanimous decision,[174] the court overturned Pistorius’s culpable homicide conviction and found him guilty of murder in the death of Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Eric Leach read the summary of judgment. The panel of five judges found for the prosecutor’s argument that Pistorius must have known that someone would die if he fired through the closed door into a small toilet cubicle. In the words of Judge Leach, "Although he may have been anxious, it is inconceivable that a rational person could have believed he was entitled to fire at this person with a heavy-calibre firearm, without taking even that most elementary precaution of firing a warning shot, which the accused said he elected not to fire as he thought the ricochet might harm him."[175]

According to the judgment, the person who Pistorius thought was in the cubicle had nothing to do with the results of his actions.[15][176][177] The culpable homicide verdict was replaced with a murder conviction, and the case was referred back to the trial court for a sentencing hearing when it reconvened on 18 April 2016.[15][178]

On 8 December 2015, it was announced Pistorius would continue to remain free on bail but under house arrest[179] pending his appeal to the Constitutional Court. On 3 March 2016, it was announced Pistorius had been denied his right to appeal, and would next be due in court on 13 June 2016 to begin a five-day sentencing hearing for the murder conviction, concluding on 17 June 2016.[180][181]

On 15 June 2016, the sentencing was adjourned by Judge Thokozile Masipa until 6 July 2016.[182]

Second prison term

On 6 July 2016, Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years’ imprisonment for murder, rather than his original sentencing of five years imprisonment for culpable homicide; once again he was incarcerated in the hospital wing at the Kgosi Mampuru II jail. It was anticipated that Pistorius would be eligible for release on parole, after serving three years of his sentence, in 2019.[183][184]

On 7 August 2016, Pistorius was treated at Kalafong Hospital, in Pretoria, after sustaining minor injuries to his wrists after slipping in his cell. Media reports of Pistorius injuring himself intentionally were said to be "completely untrue" by his brother Carl who said he was "doing well given the circumstances".[185]

On 21 July 2016, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that they would appeal against Judge Thokozile Masipa’s "shockingly lenient" 6-year jail sentence.[186] The appeal hearing took place on 26 August 2016 and the bid to appeal the sentence was rejected by Masipa who said that the NPA had "no reasonable prospect of success" of securing a longer prison sentence for Pistorius.[187] The NPA were then given 21 days to take their appeal bid to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). On 15 September 2016 it was confirmed that the NPA would make a fresh bid to extend Pistorius’s jail sentence and would file papers to the SCA on 16 September.[188] After this announcement, sources associated with Pistorius’s family and the defence team accused Gerrie Nel and the NPA of pursuing a "personal vendetta" against Pistorius.[189]

Pistorius was briefly released from prison for four hours on 14 October 2016 through a compassionate leave license to attend the funeral service of his grandmother, who died on 8 October 2016.[190]

In November 2016, Pistorius was transferred from the Kgosi Mampuru jail to Atteridgeville Correctional Centre which is smaller and better adapted for disabled prisoners, as it has better facilities for inmates including bath tubs in cells. It also holds prisoners who are serving six-year sentences or less.[191]

Sentence appeals

On 19 September 2017, it was confirmed that the SCA would hear the state’s arguments appealing to extend Pistorius’s sentence on 3 November 2017,[192] with their final ruling being confirmed on 24 November 2017.

On 24 November 2017, the SCA increased Pistorius’s jail sentence to 13 years and five months. Prosecutors had argued that the six-year term was too short. The SCA ruled his sentence be increased to 15 years, less time already served.[193]

On 19 December 2017, it was confirmed that Pistorius had filed papers with the Constitutional Court to appeal the newly increased sentence and have his previous six-year sentence reinstated.[194] On 9 April 2018, it was confirmed that on 28 March 2018 the appeal was dismissed by the courts;[195] Pistorius will not be eligible for parole until at least 2023.[196]

Steenkamp Foundation

Reeva Steenkamps mother forgave Oscar Pistorius during the trial, and focusses that the Reeva Steenkamp Foundation helps avoiding similar cases in future.[197][198]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius