Trial Discussion Thread #55 - 14.14.10, Day 44 ~ sentencing~

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Shes. A plankton....yet dixon was too so no harm done
 
Barry Bateman ‏@barrybateman 2m2 minutes ago
#OscarTrial we adjourn until tomorrow. BB
 
Wouldn't it be great if Nel could also call a disabled prisoner to testify they cope in prison?
 
OP is "vulnerable."

Everyone has bought into his story.

Poor, pitiful, vulnerable, incapable OP. Not educated, can only run, not able to take care of himself, emotionally fragile, needs to be coddled like a small child. Well heck, just give him a 9mm glock and let him shoot up whoever he wants to "protect" himself. After all, he's "vulnerable."

Here's the take away: If you are a 'star' in S.A. (and perhaps just about anywhere) you will not be subject to the same laws and rules as everyone else. You will be treated differently, because you are "special."

/then end.
 
Key points so far

With Pistorius’s agent Peet van Zyl having testified yesterday about the athlete’s philanthropic activities, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel attempted to use his cross-examination to suggest that Pistorius’s charity was motivated as much by self-promotion as by altruism.

Social worker Annette Vergeer took the stand as the defence’s final witness. Like Joel Maringa yesterday, she had prepared a report recommending that Pistorius undergo three years house arrest with community service.

In justifying this finding, Vergeer pointed to Pistorius’s remorse, his youth, his unlikeliness to re-offend, and his disability as reasons why the athlete was a better candidate for a non-custodial sentence.

Vergeer sketched a bleak picture of South African prisons, describing them as overcrowded, unsanitary, rife with drugs and crime, and unlikely to be able to fulfil Pistorius’s medical needs.
Vergeer said that she was aware that a sentence of house arrest would – wrongly, in her view – be perceived as too lenient, but that one should remember that the purpose of sentencing was “not to satisfy public opinion, but to serve public interest”.
 
zwiebel said:
Witness squeaking again. what she's saying makes it appear she does not believe in putting ppl in jail at all.
Click to expand...

.. and yet she does exactly that several times a week .. for some 'unknown' reason she thinks that Pistorius should be treated differently (nothing to do with the amount she's being paid by him, of course!) .. how can the court even entertain such biased recommendations? It shouldn't even be allowed in the first place.
 
That witness was very evasive and defensive I think, making her seem unprofessional and preventing her giving anything like expert testimony. I hope the judge takes that into account when considering the worth of the report.
 
Estelle said:
Karyn Maughan @karynmaughan

Vergeer recommended that "Sunday Rapist" Jaco Steyn get correctional supervision for sexually assaulting 3 teen girls..@eNCAnews
11:43 PM - 14 Oct 2014
Click to expand...

And the scary parade of strange and freakish 'expert' South African witnesses, professionals which sway this justice system, gets global attention by Pistorius' expensive and 'best' of the region's defence team. Speechless and saddened.

Judge Masipa seemingly accepts these characters as the 'expert' status quo of court recommendations.
*sobgulp*
 
Respected South African legal consultant Amanda Dissel laid out some of the issues which have traditionally surrounded correctional supervision in a 1997 paper:

Since its introduction in all South African provinces, there has been increasing use made of this sentence. In 1995, the Department of Correctional Services had 37 000 offenders passing through this system with 80 percent successfully completing the sentence. However, correctional supervision is not without its problems. Many courts are reluctant to use this option as they do not see it as a sufficient punishment. Another problem is that many of the offenders do not live in areas which can be easily monitored. They do not have fixed addresses or employment, and so do not qualify for the sentence. Certain population groups, by virtue of their wealth and greater social stability, tend to qualify more readily for this option: more middle-class white people are being sentenced to correctional supervision than to imprisonment.

http://www.khayelitshacommission.org.za/about/79-about/75-amanda-dissel.html
 
I am not sure that prison conditions would be allowed to enter into mitigation pleas in most other courts. It would not be considered for sentencing purposes - just on where to send the prisoner AFTER sentencing, if they had special needs.

Very strange. Witness was kind of allowed to turn her report into a political indictment of SA prison system.
 
Estelle said:
Nel asks Vergeer if she would change her mind about the unsuitability of a prison sentence for Oscar Pistorius if it were proved that a prison could cater for a disabled individual.

“No,” replies Vergeer, who says Pistorius is “vulnerable”.
Click to expand...

BBM

Because that is what she was paid to say..
 
Estelle said:
Respected South African legal consultant Amanda Dissel laid out some of the issues which have traditionally surrounded correctional supervision in a 1997 paper:

Since its introduction in all South African provinces, there has been increasing use made of this sentence. In 1995, the Department of Correctional Services had 37 000 offenders passing through this system with 80 percent successfully completing the sentence. However, correctional supervision is not without its problems. Many courts are reluctant to use this option as they do not see it as a sufficient punishment. Another problem is that many of the offenders do not live in areas which can be easily monitored. They do not have fixed addresses or employment, and so do not qualify for the sentence. Certain population groups, by virtue of their wealth and greater social stability, tend to qualify more readily for this option: more middle-class white people are being sentenced to correctional supervision than to imprisonment.

http://www.khayelitshacommission.org.za/about/79-about/75-amanda-dissel.html
Click to expand...

No wonder crime is rife in SA .. correctional supervision sentences do not do what the proponents of them would like to believe they do!
 
What I have learnt today. Killers who are vulnerable should be allowed to stay and home and go shopping.
 
Pistorius has been enabled all his life by his family and friends plus the police ignoring things which he could have been charged for and now the court is doing it!!!! He must be punished severely for his own sake.
 
Just been confirmed that the Steenkamps have been receiving the equivalent of £350 a month since last March, but the defence wanted it kept quiet for some reason. Alex Crawford just asked Roux why he wanted it kept secret, and Roux walked off. Reeva's mum and dad said they will pay all the money back. I don't see why they shouldn't have accepted money, to be honest, as Reeva was helping to support them financially, and as a direct result of OP killing Reeva, that support was taken away. They did reject a lump sum.
 
Estelle said:
Pistorius has been enabled all his life by his family and friends plus the police ignoring things which he could have been charged for and now the court is doing it!!!! He must be punished severely for his own sake.
Click to expand...


bbm

Yes! I think, no other solution would help!
 
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