Thursday, August 07, 2014

Oscar Pistorius trial: Nel Goes for the Win...No consistent Timeline


Prosecutor Gerrie Nel in court, Pretoria, South Africa - 7 August 2014
Gerrie Nel is known as the "bull terrier" in court circles


It was an impressive display. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, standing in courtroom D for most of Thursday used words like - "mendacity", "deceitfulness", "a snowball" of lies - to describe Oscar Pistorius's version of events the night he killed Reeva Steenkamp.
The man so-often dubbed the pit-bull for his ruthlessly effective cross-examinations spent a good deal of time reading from his written arguments, which were surprisingly flowery in tone and language. But this was an important day in a long trial. And Mr Nel cast his net wide. He raced from one "lie" to the next, seldom pausing for breath as he sought to direct Judge Thokosile Masipa towards the strongest aspects of the state's case.


Oscar Pistorius leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa - Thursday 7 August 2014


There were the neighbours who heard a woman screaming. There was the forensic evidence suggesting Reeva Steenkamp had eaten a late night meal. There was the disputed crime scene itself. And the defence's "incompetent" expert witnesses.

But most of all, there was Oscar Pistorius himself, his "weak" performance as a witness, and his "contradictory" explanations for what happened that night.

Where the prosecutor struck home most convincingly, in our opinion, was when he focused directly on those four closely grouped gunshots in Pistorius's toilet door, and argued that nobody who shoots repeatedly into such a confined space can possibly pretend that they did not intend to kill someone, whether a girlfriend or a perceived intruder.


Damage to door 
Damage to toilet door in bathroom


Mr Nel went on to insist that Mr Pistorius was guilty of pre-meditated murder, because he'd had time to plan his actions as he grabbed his gun and advanced towards the bathroom. But like a merchant seeking to seal the deal - any deal - Mr Nel offered Justice Masipa a range of other choices. Three more, by our count. From the deliberate murder of either of an intruder or Reeva Steenkamp (dolus directus), to the unintended but foreseeable murder of either of them (dolus eventualis), to culpable homicide.

In the past, a lot of trial followers believed the prosecution failed to offer the court a coherent version of what it believes happened that night, and of focusing instead of simply trying to discredit Pistorius's own version.


Oscar Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux
Oscar Pistorius' defence team is led by Barry Roux, who will present his final remarks on Friday


Perhaps it's not a bad strategy. Still, it was disappointing to see Mr Nel once again dodging the opportunity to sell a comprehensive theory.
The state has produced plenty of damaging claims about Oscar Pistorius's version of events and about his character - not least his refusal to accept blame for the other two gunshot incidents. But it has consistently avoided weaving them into a minute-by-minute timeline. Instead, Thursday seemed mostly to be a rehash of things Mr Nel has been saying for some time in court.
So for us, the real focus of these final arguments will be Friday's speech by defence lawyer Barry Roux. He's been eclipsed for some time by Mr Nel's show-stealing performance, but we were given a glimpse on Thursday of the sort of detailed timeline Mr Roux has been preparing.


Reeva Steenkamp attends the Virgin Active Sport Industry Awards 2013 
Reeva Steenkamp was found dead having suffered fatal gunshot wounds on early Valentine's Day 2013


We suspect Judge Masipa will find Mr Roux's timeline quite persuasive. But that won't affect the core question of this trial - the question that could yet see Oscar Pistorius convicted of murder even on his own version of events.

How could you fire four shots into a small cubicle and not intend to kill someone?

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:10:00 PM

    If truth be told , the judge and her people should vote Pistorius guilty and he is a liar and a thief , he stole Reeva life , the truth is as plan as the nose on you face .
    Roux will come out hard and strong , please let Mr. Roux lose and show the world there is still justice for all . Time for truth to talk and not the money . Thanks for the update.
    Ardis Whittin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wouldn't it be great if justice was always served? It's not always the case in the world now.
    A lot of times money, influence and celebrity win the day. They seem to have more power than the average Joe.
    I hope that judge is a very honest and smart one. From all I have seen of her, she is.

    Thank you Ardis

    ReplyDelete

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