Oscar Pistorius Sentenced

[Stephen]

I wonder what the verdict would have been if the victim was black!

[Dancing Queen]

Well I feel sorry for him and his family. The whole affair is a tragedy.

Agree it's a tragedy but shouldn't any sympathy properly be directed at the recipient of his extreme anger (and bullets!) and her family ?

The real tragedy is that this nasty B*****d only got 6 years

Too true Keefy, I doubt Reeva's family will feel justice has been done, they are the ones with the 'life sentence' and what must it feel like for them to know in probably less than 3 years he'll be walking free, the time certainly doesn't fit the crime but I guess it tells us how just corrupt the legal system in South Africa still is

[Boris+]

I wonder what the verdict would have been if the victim was black!

Same or longer probably.

[Onelife]

Well I feel sorry for him and his family. The whole affair is a tragedy.

Agree it's a tragedy but shouldn't any sympathy properly be directed at the recipient of his extreme anger (and bullets!) and her family ?

The real tragedy is that this nasty B*****d only got 6 years

Too true Keefy, I doubt Reeva's family will feel justice has been done, they are the ones with the 'life sentence' and what must it feel like for them to know in probably less than 3 years he'll be walking free, the time certainly doesn't fit the crime but I guess it tells us how just corrupt the legal system in South Africa still is

My thoughts exactly Jo ....how anyone can feel sorry for a compulsive liar is beyond me (sorry EM)... thankfully most saw past his sick bucket, cry baby performances and whilst the sentence doesn't fit the crime he will forever have to live with a conscience of what he did to this beautiful young lady.



Regards

Keefy

[suespud]

Agree it's a tragedy but shouldn't any sympathy properly be directed at the recipient of his extreme anger (and bullets!) and her family ?

The real tragedy is that this nasty B*****d only got 6 years

Too true Keefy, I doubt Reeva's family will feel justice has been done, they are the ones with the 'life sentence' and what must it feel like for them to know in probably less than 3 years he'll be walking free, the time certainly doesn't fit the crime but I guess it tells us how just corrupt the legal system in South Africa still is

My thoughts exactly Jo ....how anyone can feel sorry for a compulsive liar is beyond me (sorry EM)... thankfully most saw past his sick bucket, cry baby performances and whilst the sentence doesn't fit the crime he will forever have to live with a conscience of what he did to this beautiful young lady.





Regards

Keefy

Totally agree with Jo and Keefy

[GillD46]

And I feel the same.

[Goosebear Mum]

All I can say is that I have got up in the night and been adamant in my half asleep brain that my husband was next to me... Went to the bathroom for a wee and screamed as there was a man in there... Till a second later I realised it was my husband... I know friends who have had the same... Now if we lived in a violent country where guns and crime is rampant, where its shoot or be shot (and SA colleagues say SA is like that) and someone has no legs, then I can't say what they would or wouldn't do. Yes it was murder, yes he should have called out, but I agree there may have been some mitigating circumstances.

I think it's a tragedy for all.

[anniec]

And I feel the same.

So do I.

[Onelife]

All I can say is that I have got up in the night and been adamant in my half asleep brain that my husband was next to me... Went to the bathroom for a wee and screamed as there was a man in there... Till a second later I realised it was my husband... I know friends who have had the same... Now if we lived in a violent country where guns and crime is rampant, where its shoot or be shot (and SA colleagues say SA is like that) and someone has no legs, then I can't say what they would or wouldn't do. Yes it was murder, yes he should have called out, but I agree there may have been some mitigating circumstances.

I think it's a tragedy for all.

Hi Goosbear.....If you are innocent of a crime l would have thought the best line of defence would be to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, less of course you have something to hide. His statements were full of contradictions which isn't what you would expect from a man with mitigating circumstances.

Regards

Onelife

[Raybosailor]

I wonder what the verdict would have been if the victim was black!

Soap on a rope

[Boris+]

Hi Keefy,

We are all entitled to our own individual opinions on this forum - you have yours, and I have mine. On this particular topic they differ. Whatever our opinions are, they won't count, and they won't change the situation - but I repeat, we are all entitled to our own opinions.

Ok, there are far too many people in the world (let alone in places like the US and the RSA) who have guns of one sort or another. Those people should be in charge of a gun in the first place. Part of my opinion is that the dead woman was silly to stay with (or get involved with in the first instance) a person who owned a gun, (with ammunition) and had previously used a gun unwisely.

So, as you probably already know, my opinion isn't going to change - and I still feel sorry for Mnr Pistorius and his family, and I still think that the whole affair is a tragedy.

[anniec]

Hi Keefy,

We are all entitled to our own individual opinions on this forum - you have yours, and I have mine. On this particular topic they differ. Whatever our opinions are, they won't count, and they won't change the situation - but I repeat, we are all entitled to our own opinions.

Ok, there are far too many people in the world (let alone in places like the US and the RSA) who have guns of one sort or another. Those people should be in charge of a gun in the first place. Part of my opinion is that the dead woman was silly to stay with (or get involved with in the first instance) a person who owned a gun, (with ammunition) and had previously used a gun unwisely.So, as you probably already know, my opinion isn't going to change - and I still feel sorry for Mnr Pistorius and his family, and I still think that the whole affair is a tragedy.

Interesting perspective, blaming the victim.

[Boris+]

All I can say is that I have got up in the night and been adamant in my half asleep brain that my husband was next to me... Went to the bathroom for a wee and screamed as there was a man in there... Till a second later I realised it was my husband... I know friends who have had the same... Now if we lived in a violent country where guns and crime is rampant, where its shoot or be shot (and SA colleagues say SA is like that) and someone has no legs, then I can't say what they would or wouldn't do. Yes it was murder, yes he should have called out, but I agree there may have been some mitigating circumstances.

I think it's a tragedy for all.

Ok, if I got up in the night because I'd heard a noise which needed investigating I think I'd try and do something to protect myself and my property (and others who might be near but asleep). Yip, RSA is 'like that', and it's got worse in recent years I believe. Most properties in RSA have burglar bars on all windows (or they used to), so if I'm in a bedroom and I hear a noise coming from the en suite then I'd be very worried. Yes, of course I'd check on my OH; but in a panic it's easy enough to look at an outline of a heap of duvet and assume in that panic that your OH is under the duvet heap in the darkness. Remember, in this panicky situation speed is of the essence.

So, let's follow this a little - you're in bed, half asleep, it's dark - and you hear a noise coming from the en suite. If you call out, then who or whatever has forced their way into the en suite (it's the burglar bars on the window making me think that entry has been forced - and that is really worrying, especially in somewhere like RSA)? So, it's simple, move as quietly as you can, don't call out whatever you do (damage limitation), and try and deal with the 'invader'.

As I said before - the whole affair is a tragedy; and I won't change my opinion.

[Boris+]

Hi Keefy,

We are all entitled to our own individual opinions on this forum - you have yours, and I have mine. On this particular topic they differ. Whatever our opinions are, they won't count, and they won't change the situation - but I repeat, we are all entitled to our own opinions.

Ok, there are far too many people in the world (let alone in places like the US and the RSA) who have guns of one sort or another. Those people should be in charge of a gun in the first place. Part of my opinion is that the dead woman was silly to stay with (or get involved with in the first instance) a person who owned a gun, (with ammunition) and had previously used a gun unwisely.So, as you probably already know, my opinion isn't going to change - and I still feel sorry for Mnr Pistorius and his family, and I still think that the whole affair is a tragedy.

Interesting perspective, blaming the victim.

Used to be an old saying ... "if you play with fire, you'll get burnt". It doesn't take much nowse to work out if somebody has got a gun and ammo. It also doesn't take much to work out if that person has used a gun unwisely. I wouldn't stick around with someone who had a gun and ammo, and had also used a gun unwisely. Similarly, I don't get into a vehicle with someone who fools around whilst driving, and if that was to happen during a journey then I would get out of the vehicle.

We are all responsible for our own safety - all the time. So, anniec, can I ask - do you attend and pay attention to muster drills on a ship; do you listen to the safety drills on an aircraft; do you look both ways when you cross the road? Would you stick around if somebody had a gun and behaved foolishly with it? Would you stick around if somebody was playing with fire (literally) or driving dangerously?

Surely, wouldn't you pay attention to safety briefings, cross the road safely, AND quietly avoid dangerous situations such as irresponsible gun owners, arsonists and dangerous drivers?

The woman who died knew that he had a gun - in RSA and in the circles in which they both mixed, she would have known that he had a gun, she would have known he had used a gun foolishly previously too.

I still feel sorry for him and his family.

[Silver_Shiney]

I understand where you are coming from, Em, but as has been said by others, why lie about it? If your theory is correct, and Pistorius had been upfront about it, the situation would probably be very different and he may have "got away" with manslaughter on the basis that he was firing blindly, not knowing exactly where in the room the person was (I don't know the layout of the room beyond that door, there may not have been any "spare room" in there), so there was a chance that he would have missed.

Then again, he was not in immediate threat, a bona fide burglar may not even have been armed, so to open fire at a target without warning with the intention of killing is murder.

However, whoever it was in the bathroom wouldn't have had anywhere else to go (unless there was a window through which he'd gained entry and, thus, could escape through), so the correct thing to do would be to keep back from the door (in case the occupant had a gun and fired out) and call the police - or else get Reeva to do it, in which case he would have found that she's not in bed after all and, therefore, must be in the bathroom.

The lies and lack of genuine remorse strongly indicate to me that he knew she was in there and that he knew precisely what he was doing.
On the evidence presented to date, he got off lightly with 6 years.

[qbman1]

I understand where you are coming from, Em, but as has been said by others, why lie about it? If your theory is correct, and Pistorius had been upfront about it, the situation would probably be very different and he may have "got away" with manslaughter on the basis that he was firing blindly, not knowing exactly where in the room the person was (I don't know the layout of the room beyond that door, there may not have been any "spare room" in there), so there was a chance that he would have missed.

Then again, he was not in immediate threat, a bona fide burglar may not even have been armed, so to open fire at a target without warning with the intention of killing is murder.

However, whoever it was in the bathroom wouldn't have had anywhere else to go (unless there was a window through which he'd gained entry and, thus, could escape through), so the correct thing to do would be to keep back from the door (in case the occupant had a gun and fired out) and call the police - or else get Reeva to do it, in which case he would have found that she's not in bed after all and, therefore, must be in the bathroom.

The lies and lack of genuine remorse strongly indicate to me that he knew she was in there and that he knew precisely what he was doing.
On the evidence presented to date, he got off lightly with 6 years.

In South Africa ?!

I am not justifying his actions and I agree wholeheartedly with all you say but in our cossetted little country we cannot comprehend what it must be like living in that culture,

[Onelife]

Hi Keefy,

We are all entitled to our own individual opinions on this forum - you have yours, and I have mine. On this particular topic they differ. Whatever our opinions are, they won't count, and they won't change the situation - but I repeat, we are all entitled to our own opinions.

Ok, there are far too many people in the world (let alone in places like the US and the RSA) who have guns of one sort or another. Those people should be in charge of a gun in the first place. Part of my opinion is that the dead woman was silly to stay with (or get involved with in the first instance) a person who owned a gun, (with ammunition) and had previously used a gun unwisely.

So, as you probably already know, my opinion isn't going to change - and I still feel sorry for Mnr Pistorius and his family, and I still think that the whole affair is a tragedy.

 


"From the outside I think it looks like we are a struggle and maybe that's what we are," she wrote in one message. "I just want to love and be loved. Be happy and make someone SO happy. Maybe we can't do that for each other. Cos right now I know u aren't happy and I am certainly very unhappy and sad, [sic]"

It was a young romance plagued with insecurity, jealousy and all the trouble that comes with celebrity, as two people – one a world-renowned athlete – tried to navigate each other.

From the few messages read aloud to the court, the private Pistorius emerges as overly critical, possessive and self-absorbed; throwing public tantrums, accusing Steenkamp of flirting with other men, and putting his wants ahead of his girlfriend's needs.

"I get snapped at and told my accents and voices are annoying. I touch your neck to show u I care you tell me to stop. Stop chewing gum. Do this don't do that. You don't want to hear stuff cut me off," she wrote to him in the weeks before her death.

Steenkamp appeared to be trying to make it work – making an effort to be the perfect partner at the parties Pistorius had to attend, leaving early, trying to help him deal with his fans.

"I am trying my best to make u happy and I feel as tho u sometimes never are no matter the effort I put in," she wrote to him on Jan. 7, 2013, after he'd criticized her at a public function they'd attended together. "I can't be attacked by outsiders for dating u AND be attacked by you, the one person I deserve to be protected by"


Revee Steenkamp. 

[Manoverboard]

I understand where you are coming from, Em, but as has been said by others, why lie about it? If your theory is correct, and Pistorius had been upfront about it, the situation would probably be very different and he may have "got away" with manslaughter on the basis that he was firing blindly, not knowing exactly where in the room the person was (I don't know the layout of the room beyond that door, there may not have been any "spare room" in there), so there was a chance that he would have missed.

Then again, he was not in immediate threat, a bona fide burglar may not even have been armed, so to open fire at a target without warning with the intention of killing is murder.

However, whoever it was in the bathroom wouldn't have had anywhere else to go (unless there was a window through which he'd gained entry and, thus, could escape through), so the correct thing to do would be to keep back from the door (in case the occupant had a gun and fired out) and call the police - or else get Reeva to do it, in which case he would have found that she's not in bed after all and, therefore, must be in the bathroom.

The lies and lack of genuine remorse strongly indicate to me that he knew she was in there and that he knew precisely what he was doing.
On the evidence presented to date, he got off lightly with 6 years.

In South Africa ?!

I am not justifying his actions and I agree wholeheartedly with all you say but in our cossetted little country we cannot comprehend what it must be like living in that culture,

Life in parts of South Africa is very different to here and we know first hand that if we were woken out of a sleep in the middle of the night and thought that we had an intruder then deffo shoot first and ask questions later is the way to go ... this feller had a guest and would, in my opinion, have known that.

Vive la difference ... 6 years is as good as a reprieve even for a crime of passion.

[Silver_Shiney]

Well, it's certainly very different in South Africa - I've just received an email from a friend who's gone out there to run children's holiday clubs: "Also we are increasingly finding ourselves in areas of shootings and children are getting killed in cross fire after the holiday clubs."

[Boris+]

Alan - yip, it's more different than you'd ever imagine.

[suespud]

I was in SA over 20 years ago for a while, my OH was working out there and I went for an extended visit to see if we could live there with our children.
My OH had a bodyguard who was with him 24/7.
He was the Ops Director of a large factory which had a special place in the gatehouse where all the guns were checked in before the workers went onto the shop floor for their shift.
We decided not to live there, but have some good friends who still do live there.
As SS has already said, things are still very much the same regarding guns.

BUT, again as already stated, it doesnt justify the mindless murder of an innocent girl.

[Boris+]

You are entitled to your views, but Mnr Pistorius is human (just like you and I). I can't see through a solid door - can you? Could he?

Here's a good idea - I'll hang on to my opinions, you can hang on to yours. I'll respect your opinions, and you can respect mine.

I reckon it's a nasty tragic accident which the media got hold of and blew out of all proportions.

Cheers.

[Dancing Queen]

We are all entitled to our views but I have to say Boris I really can't comprehend why you would feel sorry for Oscar P, whatever your opinion (and you are perfectly entitled to have it) it doesn’t alter the fact he’s a cold blooded murderer, if he wasn’t he wouldn’t have been tried and convicted of the crime, a beautiful young woman lost her life because of an evil, jealous, possessive man .. where were his parents when he was abusing Reeva, I guess they missed the boat too !!

I don't see you having any sympathy for Reeva or her parents, does that mean she deserved to die and now it's ok for her family to have to live with the 'life sentence' they've been dealt because OP told a pack of lies and people like you believe it was no more than a tragic accident, he had every right to defend himself if he thought there was an intruder but shoot to kill .. he knew exactly who was in the bathroom !!

[oldbluefox]

This is the same man who fired off a firearm in a restaurant, who had a love of guns and lied to the court when asked if he knew what knowledge he had of a particularly powerful weapon, his lie being outed when seen on film firing one off.
The man is a consummate liar and nothing he says can be trusted.

[Silver_Shiney]

he didn't have much of a leg to stand on...