Search results

Interests of society must be legitimate interests...

Oh dear.

RSBM I think there's a big question mark over whether or not his disability played a direct part in explaining why he reacted as he did. IMO, there are a few variables: 1. Masipa now privately believes that Pistorius knew that Reeva was behind the door, that her first judgement was wrong on...

According to the SCA, Cloen, he couldn't possibly have thought he had a right to take a life in those circumstances.

Your post is going off on a tangent. Mine related to the question of whether or not Masipa J will consider Pistorius's disability to be relevant to the length of sentence, bearing in mind that the SCA did not rule out the possibility that he may have been afraid.

Aftermath, I suppose the million dollar question is whether or not Pistorius will be sentenced on the basis of what he would have got, had he murdered a real intruder, (in which case, an overreaction due to disability might be considered relevant to mitigation); or will Masipa sentence him on...

Yes, it's a pity the State didn't have a psychiatrist on board at the sentencing hearing, just to balance the equation and drive your point home to Masipa. Even the clinical psychologist, Leonard Carr, on Carteblanche was very robust and insightful. Here is a link to an article on the release...

In short, he's depressed because he's forced to live with the consequences of committing a very serious crime. Do you think that this depression warrants a shorter sentence? You mention that he's depressed because his appeal to the Constitutional Court was unsuccessful, but, IMO, he should be...

I agree - I also can't spot any compelling evidence, but Mannie Witz and Judge Greenland seemed convinced in the Carteblanche interview that Roux has done enough to get a few years taken off.

Wouldn't it be normal, though, for someone in his position to be extremely depressed?

What I struggle to follow is the argument that proof of disability constitutes compelling evidence in support of a shorter sentence. What is the rationale behind this? Is the Defence arguing that a disabled murderer should get a shorter sentence than an able murderer? It seems to me that the...

It occurred to me the other day that, if EVDM thought that Pistorius sounded like a woman when crying, could it also have been him, and not Reeva, that she heard speaking in a raised voice prior to the shooting?

It was an inference of fact.

I can't agree that Pistorius has been treated harshly or that a verdict of DE is the State's consolation prize for failing on DD. Had there been an armed intruder in the bathroom, Pistorius's credibility wouldn't have been shot to pieces. When Masipa made a finding that it was reasonably...

Coherency in the application of the law is obviously important, but the most important consideration, IMO, is a just outcome. I've been trying to remember - maybe someone else can help me out - which judge it was that said he'd prefer a fair outcome based on bad law than an unfair decision...

Yes and, given his status, it would be good to get an opinion from him on the SCA's judgement and Steyn's articles. I wonder if Trotterly might consider emailing him :sos: :)

Thanks. It wasn't really clear to me if he was providing his own opinion on liability or simply providing a rationale for her verdict. At one point, admittedly, he did seem to be supporting the view that a reasnable conclusion, based on the evidence, was that Pistorius did not intend to act...

Hello aftermath. I was aware of Burchell's article, but, the error in objecto point aside, do you think he is actually agreeing that Pistorius honestly didn't know he was behaving unlawfully when he fired? Might he be saying that this is what Masipa should have said, if, indeed, it was her...

Thanks, Marfa. I haven't read the whole article yet, but I did spot this:

Yes, there was definitely an elephant in the room when Leach handed down judgement...