Oscar arrives for day 2 of judgment

Cellphone image of Oscar Pistorius arriving at the High Court in Pretoria on Friday, 12 September 2014. Judge Thokozile Masipa will continue handing down judgment in the murder trial of Pistorius. Picture: SAPA

Cellphone image of Oscar Pistorius arriving at the High Court in Pretoria on Friday, 12 September 2014. Judge Thokozile Masipa will continue handing down judgment in the murder trial of Pistorius. Picture: SAPA

Published Sep 12, 2014

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Pretoria - Oscar Pistorius arrived at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria just after 9am on Friday for the second day of judgment in his trial.

He arrived in a silver Land Rover, dressed in a black suit and white shirt.

After the massive turnout outside the court on Thursday morning, Friday morning saw a severe drop in onlookers.

The usual bevy of journalists and photographers that have been monitoring the trial since the beginning were still gathering outside the court, but the banners and balloons with messages supporting the athlete were absent on Friday morning.

Reeva Steenkamp's family had arrived earlier. Steenkamp's mother June, wearing a white jacket and black pants, hurried past the media contingent with her husband and her lawyer Dup de Bruyn. By 9am, Steenkamp's friends Gina and Kim Myers, dressed in black, had also arrived.

Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux arrived at court with two other lawyers in his team, and were stuck in a crowd of journalists for a few seconds.

Behind him were lawyers Brian Webber and Kenny Oldwadge, who remarked: “What's going on now?”, before being let in.

 

Pistorius will find out on Friday if he is guilty of culpable homicide for the shooting fo his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, which could see him face a maximum 15 year prison sentence.

For such a determination, Judge Thokozile Masipa said on Friday that the court had to apply “the test of a reasonable man”, in other words asking if a reasonable person would have behaved the same way as Pistorius when he shot through his toilet cubicle door.

Masipa said the defence had argued that Pistorius's disability be taken into account when determining if he acted reasonably, and as a double-amputee was more vulnerable than the average person. However, she stated that another disabled person would most likely not have acted in the same way.

“The accused had reasonable time to reflect, think and to conduct himself reasonably,” said Masipa.

She posited that Pistorius could have simply picked up his cellphone and called the police or his estate security if he believed an intruder was in his home, rather than choosing to confront his perceived attacker.

She added that Pistorius knew the calibre of his ammunition he was using and how that could have severely damaged a human being, and was trained to operate his firearm. Masipa said that Pistorius could have taken steps to prevent the death, and he acted too hastily and used excessive force.

If Pistorius is found guilty on Friday, he could be taken to prison immediately unless he applies to extend his bail while he awaits sentencing procedures.

Masipa will also rule on the other three counts Pistorius is still facing regarding illegal ammunition he allegedly possessed and two other negligent shooting incidents in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

 

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IOL and Sapa

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