Trial Discussion Thread #21 - 14.04.09, Day 19

[Rumpole]

Funnily enough, that's exactly how I feel about Pistorius.

The we are agreed? We both want cross examination of OP to end.

 

[IfIMay]

I just doesn't seem important to me. Maybe I am missing something. Don't understand why OP would argue about it. In my eyes it just makes him look worse when he won't just concede even a small, likely inconsequential, "fact."

I think he's so afraid of being caught by saying something definitively that he constantly answers out of both sides of his mouth. He can't figure out where Nel is going, so he's not going to agree to anything he says. He qualifies and changes his meaning based on the reaction he gets. He does the same about his comment about "accidentally discharging his firearm".

He should be on dancing with the stars with that sidestep.

 

[Zinn]

So then why is Oscar so vehemently denying that he went on to the balcony??

I've wondered if perhaps OP's initial statement conflicted with data from the motion sensors. I believe he already stated he armed them but they were unreliable at that time due to recent construction, but maybe he is covering bases?

Which reminds me...when security testified about a number of residents leaving doors open that night due to the heat, they provided a list of names, most or all of which were witnesses who reported hearing shots and screaming that evening. It sounded like they alerted the residents of the open doors in the early or late evening but some left balcony doors and/or windows open overnight due to unusually warm weather. The residents' doors that were initially reported open...were those front doors or balcony doors? And did the guards note they were open due to alarm system feedback or visual inspection?

As always, all of the above is just my opinion.

 

[Feynman]

No, that was all our "reason", the general public. I just read his statement and bail affi and not once does he mention that was the reason why he didn't hear her get up. All he says in his statement is "in the time that I got the fans, closed doors etc"

Come now. Why would he include the balcony business in the affidavit otherwise? What is the point if not that?

 

[IfIMay]

The we are agreed? We both want cross examination of OP to end.

not me! I'll listen to that whine, poor me voice to the end of next month :tantrum:. I'm enjoying his being cornered and forced to confront what he did. Bring it on, Nel!

 

[emmavoberry]

5 minutes between shooting the door and breaking door open with bat, I am missing something.

According to prior statement to police, after shooting the door, he made his way down corridor to the bedroom to get his legs, saw that Reeva was not in bed, put two and two together, hastily got geared up, went back, grabbed a bat and THEN tried o break the door down with it. He is a very fast moving man, with and without his blades, i will give him that. BUT, can we corroborate this chronology or is it all based on self-reporting? She says snarkily.

 

[wb180]

The we are agreed? We both want cross examination of OP to end.

Not me. He is the only guy in that room and he killed RS. Other witnesses had to go through it and they won't as important. Hopefully we get all the details from him just like Jodi.

 

[Cherwell]

The we are agreed? We both want cross examination of OP to end.

No, I can take it. I'm tough.

 

[Duchy]

What good does it do to kick a door that swings open towards the outside instead of opening towards the inside? The door is not going to swing open after kicking it so why? Unless of course it was out of anger and/or to scare the person in the toilet room.

MOO

WOW! Good point! I never thought of that, did anyone else?:clap::yesss:

 

[HauntsForHope]

"Police have also confirmed that *Pistorius’ two dogs were in the yard of his home at the time he believed an *intruder had climbed in through his *toilet window using a workman’s ladder."

"...the amputee runner’s prized trophies were strewn across the floor when officers arrived – and some were damaged. Investigators believe this may point to a row between Pistorius and girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before he shot her four times."

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/lat...rius-trophies-were-strewn-all-over-death-flat

 

[Huna]

Just finished watching the afternoon session.

OP is a mess. To me he seems to have a word comprehension problem. Nel asks one thing but OP trying to answer something different with long drawn out answers that never seem to provide anything but more confusion and give Nel more ammunition.

I heard once that if a defendant ever takes the stand they should try to keep your answer as short as possible, like yes, no or I don't recall. Either OP's lawyers didn't prep him for trial or he didn't listen to what they had to say.

He is giving rehearsed answers and Nel called him out on it. If you listen to his voice when he gets into a long monologue, there is a a rote, flat tone to it. He doesn't address the question he's just trying to get his lines out there, the ones his lawyers gave him.

 

[crasshopper]

There's no limit to cross examination and it's often much longer than direct examination. I hope that what we saw today was just Day One tactics to shake things up and that the remainder of his cross examination will be more substantive and less confusing. If he's got some evidence to show OP's lying, let's hear it. If he can counter OP's account, then put it to him and watch him squirm - but that's not what today was...

In a big case from2010, I heard Nel kept the defendant on the stand 8 days.

As for the tactics, Nel had to put OP on notice. He has started feeding OP the rope, and Oscar, who can't resist, is hanging himself with it, inch by inch, imo.


We're dealing with a judge and assessors and not a Florida jury so I think that no matter OP comes up with, ei the new "accidental shooting in self defense", an intelligent decision will be rendered.

Unrelated but I thought I would add that I thought it was in poor form for OP to invoke Reeva's name when stating why he was taking the stand. I would have advised against it...

I might have more respect for him if he had pled guilty to culpable homicide and thrown himself at the mercy of the court OR if he would even do it now, even an Alfred plea...

 

[ShadyLady]

5 minutes between shooting the door and breaking door open with bat, I am missing something.

According to prior statement to police, after shooting the door, he made his way down corridor to the bedroom to get his legs, saw that Reeva was not in bed, put two and two together, hastily got geared up, went back, grabbed a bat and THEN tried o break the door down with it. He is a very fast moving man, with and without his blades, i will give him that. BUT, can we corroborate this chronology or is it all based on self-reporting? She says snarkily.

....time enough for her to bleed out. IMO

Reeva screamed I am sure, and he let her die. 5 minutes is a long long time.

 

[Duchy]

So eloquently stated. You captured how I'm feeling about all of this perfectly.

Self righteous springs to mind. I don't see the use of emotions to express how we feel as doing anything wrong. That is why they are provided by the site, to express how we feel. They are also open to interpretation.

 

[Duchy]

To kick the door in because it's locked.

That wouldn't work and it didn't.

 

[Viper]

Maybe he has a lift. I don't know but it's kind of absurd to say that he has wheelchair friendly doors as some kind of ploy for appearances in court.

BIB. No it is not.

OP did not have "wheelchair friendly" doors, he simply had double doors at the entry to his bedroom, nothing more. His home was not equipped with an elevator to transport a handicapped or wheelchair bound person to the upper level. In addition, if all of the doors in the home were ordered by OP to be handicapped accessible they would all be oversized, not double doors, to accommodate the width of a wheelchair. No one in a wheelchair wants to struggle with trying to open two doors.

OP was yet again using his physical deformity to play for sympathy from the court and the public. Disgusting. Especially so because he has time and again explained that he does not have a disability, he is as capable as any man.

 

[Viper]

Hi Trooper! Everyone misses you!!!

 

[Magdalyn]

5 minutes between shooting the door and breaking door open with bat, I am missing something.

According to prior statement to police, after shooting the door, he made his way down corridor to the bedroom to get his legs, saw that Reeva was not in bed, put two and two together, hastily got geared up, went back, grabbed a bat and THEN tried o break the door down with it. He is a very fast moving man, with and without his blades, i will give him that. BUT, can we corroborate this chronology or is it all based on self-reporting? She says snarkily.

Refresh me, someone, anyone...

1)Why did he decide to stop shooting at 4? Reeva screaming stopped after the 4th shot is my guess, but did Oscar prevaricate, sorry, tell his version, about why he stopped shooting at 4?

2)How did he know the bathroom door was locked, thus knowing instantly (once he 'realized' Reeva was not in bed) that he'd need a bat to get inside? Did he rattle the knob whilst also screaming to 'get out of my house'?

 

[Feynman]

OP has never used a wheelchair; he was an Olympic runner. :facepalm: This is just OP using his physical deformity to sway the court. If he had purposely designed the home to be "wheelchair friendly" for him, where is the elevator to get him up to his bedroom?

The flaw here is "for him". What makes you think such a design is "for him"?

 

[minor4th]

I think he's so afraid of being caught by saying something definitively that he constantly answers out of both sides of his mouth. He can't figure out where Nel is going, so he's not going to agree to anything he says. He qualifies and changes his meaning based on the reaction he gets. He does the same about his comment about "accidentally discharging his firearm".

He should be on dancing with the stars with that sidestep.

He needs to settle down then and not be so anxious and guarded. If he is telling the truth then he needs to just tell it.

I think a lot of OP's problem is that he is very emotionally unstable still and is really unable to completely regulate his emotions or even think clearly.