Oscar Pistorius - Sentencing - 6.13.2016

[Mr Fossil]

Jenna is sitting next to Aimee.

[video=twitter;742619118365478912]https://twitter.com/ewnreporter/status/742619118365478912[/video]

 

[cottonweaver]

So will the charity expert's line be 'If you don't send Oscar for prison he can do charity work in the future?'. Otherwise I don't see what they can add in mitigation. Charity work (which had promotional benefits for him) that he did before he was a murderer seems pretty irrelevant. And what charity is going to want him as their 'face' anyway. So whatever work it might be, it would have to be low profile as what was fame is now notoriety. If the line they take is what I pondered on above it would be reminiscent of Jodi Arias's 'If you don't execute me I can grow my hair long and donate it to charity'.

She is another vocal tweeter who comms with the Supporters for oscar group.

My feed has gone, but her evidence is from way back in time. He is a different person - he has PTSD, convicted of a violent crime, needs hospitalisation, so he can't work with kids now!
I presume they will say - he could work with vulnerable kids in the future once the private psychs sign him off as fit enough.


As I said yest, there isn't a single Kgosi staff member up there for the Defence- not a criminologist, not a social worker. Instead Roux has put up this woman based in Iceland. LOL
His prison experience and record is clearly less than exemplary.

 

[LemonMousse]

Not suggesting anything should be read into this but I am genuinely surprised that a Christian pastor would choose to affirm rather than swear on the Bible.

I'm an atheist and I would only ever affirm.

Nel looked quite grim when he abruptly asked for the court to stand down. Think something may be up here.

 

[LemonMousse]

She is another vocal tweeter who comms with the Supporters for oscar group.

My feed has gone, but her evidence is from way back in time. He is a different person - he has PTSD, convicted of a violent crime, needs hospitalisation, so he can't work with kids now!
I presume they will say - he could work with vulnerable kids in the future once the private psychs sign him off as fit enough.


As I said yest, there isn't a single Kgosi staff member up there for the Defence- not a criminologist, not a social worker. Instead Roux has put up this woman based in Iceland. LOL
His prison experience and record is clearly less than exemplary.

Yes! The paucity of defence witnesses is very telling, isn't it!

 

[cottonweaver]

#OscarPistorius next witness is Marius Nel - a pastor at 3C Ministries. BB

Yesterday they said they would only call 2 witnesses - interesting? Didn't yesterday go very well then?

 

[cottonweaver]

Not suggesting anything should be read into this but I am genuinely surprised that a Christian pastor would choose to affirm rather than swear on the Bible.

I'm an atheist and I would only ever affirm.

Nel looked quite grim when he abruptly asked for the court to stand down. Think something may be up here.

How odd. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the feed. Is the Rev a pentecostal - is it something about it being the wrong version of the Bible.

Guardian says

Marius Nel is a pastor in a church in Centurion, which runs a non-profit organisation called Bright Smiles, Bright Future focused on underprivileged children.

He says the group works with the education department to reach out to underprivileged learners in an “adopt a scholar” programme, providing blankets, stationery and so on. There is also a feeding scheme for 5,000 children each day, and a medical programme

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...cing-hearing-reeva-steenkamp?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

[mrjitty]

The defence seems surprisingly disorganised.

Having watched Ulrich Roux's summary I agree with him that by far the best play would have been for Oscar to throw himself at the Judge's mercy

So the question is why are they not doing that? And instead bringing in half baked witnesses like yesterday?

I wonder if that was the play but late in the game Oscar has chickened out?

That said, the technical quality of Roux's witnesses has been poor through out.

 

[mrjitty]

Yes! The paucity of defence witnesses is very telling, isn't it!

They played their best cards first time at bat.

 

[LemonMousse]

How odd. Unfortunately I couldn't watch the feed. Is the Rev a pentecostal - is it something about it being the wrong version of the Bible.

Guardian says



https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...cing-hearing-reeva-steenkamp?CMP=share_btn_tw

Not sure. I suppose it could be the wrong version of the Bible or maybe, in principle, he doesn't believe the Bible should be used for swearing on. Something like that, maybe.

But it's curious.

 

[LemonMousse]

They played their best cards first time at bat.

Yep.

What do you make of the abrupt standing down? Do you think it's because the pastor refused to name the schools?

 

[mrjitty]

Yep.

What do you make of the abrupt standing down? Do you think it's because the pastor refused to name the schools?

I am not watching.

To be honest I spent years reading absurd evidential submissions and its a waste of my life to sit through it.

None of this stuff is "compelling reasons"

It's just general background character evidence.

 

[Marfa Lights]

Carl is waltzing and bouncing around talking on his cell phone-- as if he is conveying good news. The P family is behaving suspiciously upbeat this morning.

 

[Estelle]

#OscarPistorius Roux has no further witness.
Nel says he will call Barry Steenkamp, but he needs 30 minutes to prepare. BB

 

[cottonweaver]

Carl is waltzing and bouncing around talking on his cell phone-- as if he is conveying good news. The P family is behaving suspiciously upbeat this morning.

oooh - wonder what is happening?
Could it just be bravado Marfa?

 

[Estelle]

I had a good look at OP and he looks as if his eyes are made up with black under his eyes. It does not look real to me.

I had a court case once as I had a car accident which left three large scars on my face. It was quite often suggested to me before the court case that I should use makeup to to make them look worse! I refused to do that, of course. But that incident has made me suspicious when I look at OP close up.

What do you think?

 

[cottonweaver]

Yes! The paucity of defence witnesses is very telling, isn't it!

Consider the Def witnesses at sentencing for CH though.
Shalkenberg- bad hair social worker who didn't even know about current prisons in SA and got an official reprimand later
"Appropriate adult" - forgotten her name- she was there when he was in custody, she phoned the Defence to say can I testify.

They were as badly chosen as today's Icelander .

Now in 2016, after even more furore over this charade..... good witnesses are thinner on the ground?
( His own private psych is not even here - Scholtz only. )
Yet this is the only fight that matters for the Defence. And this is the best they could do?

Can't use Derman ( disability, vulnerability re firing ), no amputation family doc ( disability, vulnerability re escaping .) No van Zyl who didn't seem to bring anything to Masipa's tea party anyway ( lack of refs to him in her previous sentencing judgement)

 

[Really?]

I think his eyes are naturally evil......

 

[Estelle]

I hope Gerrie Nel now will have some strong witnesses as the defence looks weak to me but still playing on Masipa's empathy. I expect Barry Steenkamp to be an excellent witness for the Prosecution. It will be very emotional for him and for us to hear. But I hope it gives him some closure. I wonder what other witnesses the Prosecution has?

 

[JudgeJudi]

Barry is in the witness box.

 

[Marfa Lights]

I had a good look at OP and he looks as if his eyes are made up with black under his eyes. It does not look real to me.

I had a court case once as I had a car accident which left three large scars on my face. It was quite often suggested to me before the court case that I should use makeup to to make look worse! I refused to do that, of course. But that incident has made me suspicious when i look at OP close up.

What do you think?

I will try to look for a close-up. I did think yesterday that someone had instructed his barber to give him a slightly crazy person's hair cut. He also looked like he had rubbed all his eyelashes off.