Tag: Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius is back in jail today, sentenced to 6 years following last month's re-sentencing hearing which was the result of the state winning an appeal over the judge's decision to toss the murder charge.

The judge said there were mitigating factors and rejected a prosecution request for a 15 year sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 3 years.

One mitigating factor:

Mr. Pistorius, the judge said, had shown genuine remorse in trying, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, to apologize in person to the victim’s parents.

There were others, and the Judge recognized that a long term of imprisonment would not be in the best interests of justice. [More...]

Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail pending the outcome of his new appeal and should that fail, his sentencing. His next court date is in April. He is appealing the recent appeals court decision changing his manslaughter conviction to murder to the Constitutional Court.

From reporters covering the hearing on Twitter: He will remain on house arrest, but is free to leave the house between 7 am and midnight. He will be allowed to travel within 20km of (his uncle's house in Waterkloof, Pretoria.

The Judge said, ""I am of the view that it would not be in the interests of justice that the applicant should not leave the house at all" [More...]

The South African appeals court has ruled the trial judge in the Oscar Pistorius case erred in dismissing the murder charge. He won't get a new trial. He now stands convicted of murder, and the case will be sent back to the trial court for resentencing.

Bad ruling as I've opined many times.

Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison on August 21. He will have served 10 months of his 5 year sentence.

South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.

He will serve the remainder of his sentence on home detention. He also faces the state's appeal of the dismissal of the murder count against him in November.

He has been serving his sentence in the hospital wing of the prison.

Oscar Pistorius may be eligible for release from prison by August. He would finish his sentence on home detention. The timing is significant because it is unlikely the appeals court will have heard the state's appeal by then.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on Friday said it would only submit its transcripts to the High Court at the end of May; and a date for the appeal would only be set after both the State and defence file their heads of argument.

This will most likely take around two months, which means it would be heard once Pistorius becomes eligible for early release.

[More...]

The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has ruled the state can appeal her judgment of culpable homicide and dismissal of the murder charge against Pistorius. She ruled that she can't say it's a remote possibility that the appeals court might rule differently on the legal issue of whether dolus eventualis applies.

She refused to allow the state to appeal Oscar's sentence for culpable homicide. She said that's a factual ruling and she made it based on the evidence presented. So if the appeals court upholds the judge's ruling dismissing the murder charge, his sentence cannot be increased.

Based on the cases she cited in her original ruling dismissing the murder charge, and some related cases in South Africa I looked at, I think the judge was correct in her legal ruling. I don't think the state proved Oscar had the necessary intent for a murder conviction. Dolus eventualis exists when an accused foresees that his conduct poses a risk that an unlawful killing might occur, reconciles himself to the risk, and decides to proceed anyway. There was no evidence Oscar contemplated that risk. He was operating under a mistaken assumption of fact. That his assumption was wrong does not translate to intent. Intent is a subjective test. [More...]

The prosecution in South Africa is appealing Judge Masipa's ruling in the Oscar Pistorius case.

It claims she misapplied the doctrine of dolus eventualis and should have found him guilty of first degree murder. It also argues his sentence was too light.

The prosecution's filing is here. An article supporting her judgment is here. Another is here. Yet another is here. My view, as I've expressed many times: the appeal should fail and I disagree with the articles taking the opposite view.

Update: The judge sentenced Oscar to five years in prison on the culpable homicide charge and imposed a three year suspended sentence on the firearm count. The sentences will run concurrently. He was taken into custody. Neither side indicated they were going to appeal, and there was no mention of bail pending appeal or a delay to put his affairs in order. Oscar sat by himself throughout the sentencing, and did not display any emotion at the sentence. I didn't see any interaction between Oscar and his lawyer during the proceeding or after.

A summary of the judge's reasoning is below (from my notes this time, not tweets.)[More...]

Closing arguments are over in the Oscar Pistorius case. The judge is expected to rule Tuesday. Prosecutors asked for 10 years. The defense asks for house arrest and community service. From the defense closing:

Roux said there was also "no conscious unlawfulness" from Pistorius. He described Pistorius' suffering, both emotional and financial, since the Feb. 14, 2013 shooting.
"He's lost everything," Roux said of Pistorius, once an inspirational figure who became the first amputee to run at the Olympics in 2012. "He was an icon in the eyes of South Africans."

...."He's not only broke, but he's broken. There is nothing left of this man," Roux said. He said that Pistorius "hasn't even the money to pay for legal expenses. He has nothing left."

Oscar Pistorius' lawyers presented more witnesses today, including his manager.

The prosecutor, Gerry Nel, was his usually bombastic self. He has a real attitude, and it has not been lost on the judge in this trial.

Mr Nel described Mr Maringa's suggestions as "shockingly inappropriate", adding that they would amount to "no sentence". He questioned whether Mr Maringa understood the gravity of Pistorius's crime.

Even if she decides to give Oscar some jail time, I highly doubt she will give as anywhere close to what the prosecutor is asking for. . [More...]

Judge Masipa has finished reading her verdict in the Oscar Pistorius trial. He is not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide. She found him guilty of one count of negligent handling of a firearm (the one that went off in the restaurant) and not guilty of another firearm charge (shooting through his sunroof.) She found him not guilty of illegal possession of ammunition.

I think she was very thorough and her ruling on the homicide charge was correct. Recap of her ruling below. (For yesterday's verdict reading, see here.) [More...]

4:15 am: Glad I stayed up for one more segment. The Judge has just rejected premeditated murder. The state failed to prove its case. She spent some time saying Oscar was a poor witness and not candid with the court, but said that isn't enough to conclude he's guilty. His testimony must be viewed in conjunction with all the evidence presented. Again, it's going to be not guilty of premeditated murder, but she's leaning towards guilt on culpable homicide. She has discretion in sentencing at that charge. Big loss for the arrogant, bellicose prosecutor. Huge win for the defense, blocking a life sentence.

2:55 am MT: Judge takes a half hour break. I'm done for the night, fairly confident that the Judge will find him not guilty of premeditated murder, having rejected most of the state's case. After finishing the issue of premeditation, she recounted Oscar's testimony and his conflicting statements which included that he did not shoot intentionally, he shot accidentally, and he shot unconsciously, without thinking. She doesn't buy his version, and cites him having released the safety mechanism and that he also said he fired because he thought someone was in the bathroom and might come out and attack him. It sounds like she will find him not guilty of the more serious premeditated murder charge and is moving onto his intent in shooting and the "culpable homicide" charge. It's not looking good for Oscar on the culpable murder charge -- it sounds like she thinks he could have foreseen that someone would be shot and killed even if that was not his intent, but she's not done yet. [More...]