Oscar Pistorious

[Kaze]

His trial started a few days ago, he could be charged for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. If found guilty, Pistorious will be jailed for a minimum of 25 years.

I believe he should not be jailed. Here is why..

Pistorious is a very famous athlete who has won a gold medal in the recent Olympics. Due to his achievements, Oscar has attracted a lot of media attention and fans. So we all know he is a popular figure in South Africa. He has two amputated legs which makes him vulnerable to almost anything. Instead of making it a big deal by hiring security guards and such forces, he decided to take matters into his own hands and equip himself with firearms. He wanted to protect himself and his girlfriend from those who feel the need to disturb the peace.

He heard some ruckus in his bathroom and due to Oscar being vulnerable, he grabbed his firearm for his and his girlfriends safety. The person on the other side of the door (unfortunately it was Reeva) did not respond to his shouting in which the silence provoked Oscar to pull the trigger.

Oscar was simply protecting himself and his girlfriend from an 'intruder'.


Please let me know your opinion on this blockbuster case.

RIP - Reeva Steenkamp

[Devin]

I haven't really been bothered to follow the soap drama court case as it has been televised and all over the news since then.

One thing is interesting however, the neighbors claim to have heard a woman screaming then shots being fired and then him screaming for help.. Sounds more like an argument turned into him shooting her.

There was also a case some time ago of him shooting a firearm in public which his friend took the blame for to cover him. 
Looks like someone needs either gun usage lessons or anger management courses.

[Kaze]

Oscar's lawyer claimed Oscar's scream is high pitched which sounds like a girl's scream. He screamed to express his danger and possibly alert his girlfriend or the nearby neighbours.

[Devin]

That awkward moment when you have to accept the fact that you scream like a woman and the person you are paying to protect and represent you in a court hearing tells you that you scream like a girl when you are afraid. 

[Kaze]

That awkward moment when you have to accept the fact that you scream like a woman and the person you are paying to protect and represent you in a court hearing tells you that you scream like a girl when you are afraid. 

LOL Ikr but yeah

Pistorius' lawyer argued that the screams after the gunshots were actually Pistorius shouting in a state of agitation after accidentally shooting his girlfriend.

The lawyer also said that the injury that Reeva Steenkamp sustained to her head would have resulted in brain damage and "no cognitive function", meaning she would not have been able to scream after the last bullet struck.

[yoske]

Pistorious is a very famous athlete who has won a gold medal in the recent Olympics. Due to his achievements, Oscar has attracted a lot of media attention and fans. So we all know he is a popular figure in South Africa. He has two amputated legs which makes him vulnerable to almost anything. Instead of making it a big deal by hiring security guards and such forces, he decided to take matters into his own hands and equip himself with firearms. He wanted to protect himself and his girlfriend from those who feel the need to disturb the peace.

Totally irrelevant.

It's up to court to decide did he killed her intentionally or not. I believe he did it and he should get maximum penalty available by South African law.

Having firearms in house to protect yourself draws some responsibility. He shot her twice. I don't buy that story with robber.

[Kaze]

Totally irrelevant.

It's up to court to decide did he killed her intentionally or not. I believe he did it and he should get maximum penalty available by South African law.

Having firearms in house to protect yourself draws some responsibility. He shot her twice. I don't buy that story with robber.

Are you telling me that you would not hesitate to pull the trigger if you heard a noise and no one is answering you? He didn't know she was in there nor did he have the intentions to kill someone. The shots were simply a scare tactic for the 'intruder' to give himself up.

[yoske]

Are you telling me that you would not hesitate to pull the trigger if you heard a noise and no one is answering you? He didn't know she was in there nor did he have the intentions to kill someone. The shots were simply a scare tactic for the 'intruder' to give himself up.

Was "robber" armed? He could easily scare him of with gun, he didn't had to shoot twice especially if he didn't saw the robber at all. He could shoot in wall if he wanted to scare him. I don't know, I would be afraid if something like that happens to me too, but I am sure I would wait to see who is it before I shoot. Twice.

[Devin]

To be fair, with the way the law system works here, even if it had been someone breaking into his house and he had shot a robber he would go to jail for attempted murder.

If you are not shot at first then it's not classed as self defense and instead simply murder/attempted murder.

[ClazzyJogel]

If you are not shot at first then it's not classed as self defense and instead simply murder/attempted murder.

I'm not from Africa, but I believe in most countries an immediate danger of life to yourself or others would justify a murder as a last resort. Now that doesent necessarily mean that you have to be shot at first in order to use deadly force.

[Solis]

It's understandable why he decided to bring firearms to defend his home. South Africa has had a really high violent crime rate for the past decades, notably rape, murders of white farmers and carjackings.

From what I've read just from Wikipedia and this topic, this guy is screwed. At worst he'll get charged with second degree murder for the malicious killing "at the heat of the moment" of his girlfriend, due to the supposed discussion they had before, at best he'll be charged with manslaughter for the negligent but not premeditated killing of his girlfriend. Of course, this is if South Africa even follows the types of murder degrees used in the US.

Are you telling me that you would not hesitate to pull the trigger if you heard a noise and no one is answering you? He didn't know she was in there nor did he have the intentions to kill someone. The shots were simply a scare tactic for the 'intruder' to give himself up.

I wouldn't, and if did I wouldn't purposely shoot for the door in order to hit the intruder. That's just negligent on my part for resorting to violence at the first chance. There's no proof that he was in risk of death or serious physical harm, and there's doubt he had fear of being at risk of either.

I'm not from Africa, but I believe in most countries an immediate danger of life to yourself or others would justify a murder as a last resort. Now that doesent necessarily mean that you have to be shot at first in order to use deadly force.

There is, there's even those where you must simply have reasonable evidence that you feared for your life, so you don't have to wait for the physical evidence.

[[WS]Jacob]

This is where the 'guns don't kill people, people do' argument is proved wrong. If he didn't have the gun then he wouldn't have shot his girlfriend, he would have investigated the who the 'intruder' was.

Personally I don't buy his lies and hope he goes to jail for the rest of his life.

[saberman]

Having firearms in house to protect yourself draws some responsibility. He shot her twice. I don't buy that story with robber.

To be fair, with the way the law system works here, even if it had been someone breaking into his house and he had shot a robber he would go to jail for attempted murder.

If you are not shot at first then it's not classed as self defense and instead simply murder/attempted murder.

If that would be a normal person you yourself would've probably said he was guilty, Kaze. It is understandable you would defend a person you like, but punishment is for every guilty person.