Thank you. I'd like to point out, from my position of believing him guilty of DD, that had he confessed then my attitude towards him would be nowhere near as negative as it is. And all that I said in that post, I wish for him and I am not a vengeful person. Had he owned up, then all I would have wanted was an appropriate punishment and then for him to move on and make something of the rest of his life. I may have even wished him well. But as things stand, I can't have any compassion for him. I know you will see this differently as you believe his version, but when one doesn't, his refusal to accept responsibility and tell the truth is much more galling.
Re the intruder hypothetical. Yes, I think the outrage would have been much less. The degree perhaps depends on what country and culture you are from. Perhaps South Africans, with the high incidence of robberies, and the USA, with its gun culture, would have been more understanding. For many Australians I think there would have been more disquiet at someone's 'right' to just shoot an intruder without even knowing who they are as we don't have the guns or the 'stand your ground` laws. But generally, yep, I agree with the 'intruder' hypothetical in your example.
I'm American, and yes, this country surely is awash in guns. Massacres by gun have become all but routine here, and gun violence doesn't even rate headlines unless a cop has done the shooting or multiple people were killed.
Shooting an intruder in one's home in the US is typically considered justifiable. Consider one of the most twisted miscarriages of justice here I've ever heard of: five teenagers broke into someone's house, thinking it empty, hoping to steal a small amount of cash, iirc.
The house wasn't empty. The homeowner was upstairs, and armed. He shot and killed one of the (unarmed) boys, who died in the arms of his friend.
The homeowner didn't face any charges, but the four surviving boys did-- all were charged with murder and convicted. (The case is the "Elkhart 4").
Personally, I'm as anti-gun as one can be. What outrages me about that night is the fact OP still had access to a gun, after his demonstrable history of recklessly endangering others with guns. IMO Reeva would be alive if OP's enablers hadn't excused away the unacceptable.
I totally understand feeling justice wasn't done if one believes OP intended to kill Reeva. Even not believing that, I don't feel sympathy or compassion for him either.
To me, it speaks worse about him that he wanted to escape all consequences, even of shooting who he believed to be an intruder. He lied and then he lied some more, IMO to evade even that minimal accountability. Nothing to admire or respect in that.
(Edited to correct details of the Eckhart case).