Originally Posted by Mrjitty
I read the judgement and was so alarmed at the poor quality of legal reasoning and evidential analysis that I checked her CV. I thought maybe she might have a commercial or other background and was somewhat new to criminal.
But it turns out she is just wildly under-qualified.
I presume this is a just a result of the massive changes in South Africa.
NZ in the 2010s is able to promote top talent from year groups in the 1980s. People I graduated with in the mid 90s are still some way off Judge.
SA does not have that luxury (yet).
But surely surprising she would be considered for this case.
Perhaps that Masipa was chosen for this case is not surprising at all.
If the verdict was “pre-ordained” by certain “interested parties” (yes, after her explosive train wreck ruling, ALL my red flags went up), then what better judge than a black woman (tough on violent abusers) to deflect suspicion?
Unlike a white male judge (or even a white female), who could potentially be perceived as inherently biased from the word go if OP received favored treatment/acquittal, very few would expect Masipa to be biased; hence, any verdict she handed down would be deemed fair and impartial (well, that backfired spectacularly, didn’t it? :lol
. I doubt Masipa’s name was simply pulled out of a hat as next in line; for a super-high-profile case like OP - she was painstakingly chosen.
Masipa’s ruling is all the more
suspicious, given her history of strict rulings and harsh sentences for rapists and women-killers. Perhaps a black female judge with relatively little experience was the throwaway scapegoat to suffer the world’s scorn for allowing SA’s murderous National Hero to walk free.
NEVER underestimate the unseen forces behind the scenes, those with vested interests in the outcome of a high-stakes game (especially when those interests are
familial). With such ruthless people, the ends always justify the means. As in the US, where money-men and power players in every sphere
buy and sell influence at will, where the rich and famous routinely buy their way out of trouble while the poor are tossed into the prison black hole for far lesser offenses, SA has a deep history of corruption. Powerful, vested entities with the money and influence to do so would never leave the fate of Oscar Pistorius up to mere chance.
Do you honestly think a black female judge in SA (or any judge) could never be paid off, subtly intimidated and/or aggressively threatened under the right circumstances? I’m not saying this is what happened - I’m saying it’s entirely possible.
In fact, given the totality of this highly-unique, ultra-high-stakes murder case, in light of the insanely outrageous verdict from a judge who appears to have done a complete judicial 180, I’d say it’s more than probable.
