12/09/2014 BBC World News


12/09/2014

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The athlete Oscar Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide over

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the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

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The accused acted negligently when he fired shots into the toilet door.

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There was very little room in which to manoeuvre.

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I'm Karin Gianone live outside the court in Pretoria where

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The court must decide whether Oscar Pistorius will be freed on bail

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until his sentence. US Secretary of State John Kerry

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heads to Turkey, seeking more support for action against Islamic

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State militants in Iraq and Syria. The South African athlete

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Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, also

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known as manslaughter, for shooting The judge said the athlete had acted

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negligently when he used his gun but she cleared him of murder, saying

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the prosecution had failed to prove Thank you. We are waiting for

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proceedings to resume again. It has been a morning in which we have

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heard a decision on every single charge which Oscar Pistorius faced.

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He faced the lesser firearms charges and then the murder charge,

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premeditated charge of Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Masipa said he was

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not guilty of murder, but has convicted him of culpable homicide.

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Let's take you back to the exact words she used earlier. Mr

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Pistorius, please stand up. The unanimous decision of this court is

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the following. On current one, murder the accused is found not

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guilty and is discharged. Instead, she is found guilty of culpable

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homicide. We are waiting the continuing our --

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arguments over whether Oscar Pistorius will be granted bail or

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not. He has been on bail for the last 18 months and been living at

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his uncle's house. The defence is our giving you should be able to

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stay on bail in that situation until the sentencing hearing begins. The

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prosecution has argued that he is now a convicted criminal and should

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not be granted bail for this very serious offence of culpable

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homicide. With me is a former High Court judge. What have you made of

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what we have seen today? I was surprised as far as the finding is

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concerned on the culpable homicide case. When you deal with a

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reasonable person, that reasonable person must find himself in the same

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position. You would say to yourself, a reasonable person, who thought

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there was a criminal behind the door and who was at risk, unless you can

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see that you would definitely not have fired the shots, you would have

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to give Oscar Pistorius reasonable doubt. In that sense, I think she is

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wrong. But she was correct as far as the law was concerned, just the

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application of the effect. He must have known there was somebody behind

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the door, but she did not see any of the evidence before her as being

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enough to kill. There was no such proof. She rejected the seat's

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evidence. -- state's evidence. For that, she was left with evidence of

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the accused. She was in a difficult position that she accepted his

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evidence as far as the subject of contention was concerned, that is

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why she found him not guilty. She therefore find, as effect, that the

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accused was facing a great, was freezing somebody on the inside, was

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running the risk that the person could come out, was running the risk

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that he could kill him. To be so subjective is a problem because they

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fear must be considered. Again, because the onus is not on him, she

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could say, I do not accept this, but there is a reasonable possibility.

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Then she would have acquitted him. To say that a reasonable man would

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stand there and would face exactly the same, can you say that a

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reasonable man would not have done that? He would have been scared, he

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would have faced someone, probably a criminal, so the same facts would

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apply and that is why she would have to be very correct in her approach.

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But I must emphasise, because she has made a good judgement, she has

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given a good judgement, she has measured everything she has said.

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Thank you very much for the moment. What exactly does this charge of

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culpable homicide mean for Oscar Pistorius? My colleague looks at the

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applications are being found guilty. Oscar Pistorius, shortly after he

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had killed Reeva Steenkamp. From the very beginning, he insisted it was a

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terrible mistake, that he and Reeva seen arriving at his home a few

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hours earlier, they were very much in love. I was trying to protect

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Reeva. When she went to bed that night, she felt loved. In court,

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Oscar Pistorius maintained that he shot through his bathroom door,

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convinced an intruder had broken into his home. His grief and regret

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were compelling. I sat and cried, I don't know how long, I don't know

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how long I was there for. She wasn't breathing. Oscar Pistorius's defence

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made much of the athlete's vulnerability, of a disabled man

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confronting a perceived threat. His capacity to what the Burgess

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produces is pure, he could easily be pushed over. When exposed to a

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threat, Mr Pistorius is more likely to respond with a fight response

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rather than a flight response. The prosecution sought to show that

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there is a darker side to Oscar Pistorius, his obsession with guns,

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his quick temper and it questioned how the athlete could have made such

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a terrible mistake. When you shouted and screamed at

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Beaver to phone the police, she was a 3 metres away from you. And she

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never uttered a word. That is correct. It is not probable. At the

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heart of this case was the question of what Oscar Pistorius was thinking

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when he shot four times through the toilet door. I heard this noise and

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I thought it was somebody coming out to attack me so I fired. Your

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defence has now changed from putative self-defence to involuntary

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action. I do not understand the law, I can only reply to what I am asked

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to stop today's verdict suggests that the judge believed Pistorius's

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explanation. I believe that the judge was speed by his demeanour on

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the stand. The judge was Swede by evidence procured by the defence,

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including the psychological impact his childhood may have had on him,

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as well as the experts were brought in by the defence. This is almost

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certainly the best verdict Oscar Pistorius could have hoped for. It

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means the prosecution failed to convince the judge that the athlete

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meant to kill anybody. But it still meant the judge found him criminally

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negligent. Some of Reeva's Steenkamp's friends have already

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criticised the verdicts. It does not surprise me. It is pretty much what

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I expected from the outset. He can afford the best possible defence and

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private investigators to support his case. Oscar Pistorius has yet to be

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sentenced. A prison term is very likely, up to 15 years. But the

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judge has the option to fine him and freedom. --

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let's discuss this with the former High Court judge. If you were

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sitting before this court, and presiding over this case, what now

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would you be looking at in terms of sentencing? There are two sets of

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facts that one could consider. There were aggravating circumstances, and

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mitigating circumstances. Let's look at the aggravating circumstances. It

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is arguable that he should not have fired the shots. Subjectively, as

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far as blameworthy business is concerned, that is a proposition the

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judge is facing. As far as the fact that he did not ensure that his

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girlfriend was still in bed, he just walked out, the answer to that is

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there was no reason to suspect that she was not in the bed next to him.

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She would have to follow that direction and those arguments. As

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far as mitigating is concerned, you are again faced with a situation

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where he found himself in a precarious position as far as safety

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is concerned, with his shortcomings, with his psychological problems, you

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need to take into account that blameworthy this -- his blameworthy

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nurse is not as much as it would have been without these

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psychological issues. Taking these facts into account, that he has got

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these problems, the judge actually adjourned because he started crying,

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not every person accused of murder sits crying in court, you need to

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attach weight to that. Let's get to the culpable homicide matter. If you

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look at that, the sentence could be anything from a suspended sentence

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to a long-term sentence, such as 18 years. But because of all the

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mitigating circumstances, I suspect that she would impose a sentence of

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about seven years effectively. Would that be seven years to serve, or

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eligible for parole? Eligible for parole. And one third, you get off

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that automatically. About five years. Once you have served some

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part of it, he will be eligible for that. As far as the firearm

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conviction is concerned, he did in danger the life of people, so that

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must be accounted for. The court could impose a whole sentence or see

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in mitigating circumstances, I am not going to impose the maximum

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sentence. Then, of course, she can decide that the sentences would run

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concurrently. So he would not go double the time to jail. And being

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first offender, that is more than likely that that is what she would

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do. Anything in the back of her mind, she must feel a lot of

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sympathy for him. I'm not saying she should have been influenced by that,

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she has two exercise depression, but she is a human being. Fascinating to

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get your thoughts. Thank you very much. There are so many murders each

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year, so many murder cases and killings in South Africa, why has

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this murder trial attracted so much attention? Why has been this out of

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focus by so many broadcasters from all around the world? Let's just

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remind ourselves about the level of prestige and fame that Oscar

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Pistorius had before the events in February 2014 when he killed Reeva

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Steenkamp, hot and inspiration and stripper star he was for many.

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Oscar Pistorius was a man who changed the opinions of millions.

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They may call me the Blade Runner but I just Oscar. And I was born

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without bones in the bottom part my legs, my parents made a difficult

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decision to amputate them. Few people know him as well as this

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Olympian and long-term training partner. I had a lot of incidents

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when he hugged me. I cannot count them all. He is a gentle man. He is

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someone who will stick to his words. He was chasing a dream, a big dream.

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That dream began at school when he was given carbon fibre prospect and

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began to run. It was here in March 2004 when a teenage Oscar Pistorius

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after just two months of training with blades, showed how good he was.

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He ran the 100 metres in just over 11 seconds, a new world record.

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50-50 and rotate. Confidence was no problem as he told the BBC in 2007.

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I put in more hours, I eat better, I train better and I train better than

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the other guys. He is flying away from all of them. 21 seconds. My

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goodness. Paralympic gold medals followed and by now he had become a

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brand. They told me I would never walk. A man with no legs cannot run.

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Anything else you want to tell me? At London, he became the first

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amputee to run at the Olympics but why now the stories were also

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emerging of another side to his character. They did O'Sullivan has

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known him since he was a boy. I knew a roommate of his and he told me he

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had to move out of the room because Oscar Pistorius had gone hysterical

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on the phone and he was shouting and screaming. He was talking to a

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girlfriend and a man who had taken this girl out on an overseas trip. I

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have the story confirmed by other athletes who said it was terrible to

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which is, this incredible meltdown. The athlete later insisted he had

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left Oscar Pistorius is room on medical grounds, but the rumour

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persisted. He seemed to present a different persona. We heard about

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the fast cars, how he was an insomniac and he used to go out on

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the shooting range in the middle of the night. There were more and more

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of these incidents which sold him to be aggressive and volatile. There

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was controversy on the track. After losing in the 200 metres final in

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London to a resilient, he suggested that his rival had cheated.

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TRANSLATION: There was nothing wrong with my blades. It was difficult for

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me to stand beside him after all of that. He saw me at the Olympic

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Village and refused to talk to me. But the man who bit come -- has

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become the new poster boy of her Olympian sport said Oscar Pistorius

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was capable of surprising generosity. In the final in London

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he said just before, do you mind if I pray for you? He was a nice

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person. It was great to be there. It is a crazy situation. He made the

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breakthrough in Paralympic sport. At the University for his training was

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based, a new generation of hopefuls remain loyal. He is still an

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inspiration for me. I lost my leg, I saw him doing so well. He was a role

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model of mine. As an as like superhuman -- athletes superhuman,

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as a man, flawed. He will now be identified with events away from the

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track. The ultimate fall from grace of sport is complete.

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We thought that I now we would be seeing court receding is resuming

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again. We are still waiting. Judge Tarah Jones called a lunch

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adjournment. -- the judge. We will go back inside to bring you all the

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latest developments. At the moment, they are discussing the issue of

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Dale or a renewal of bail conditions. -- of bail. It centres

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on whether he will be allowed to continue living at his uncle's

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residence of whether he will have to spend the time before his sentence

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in custody. It could be that he walks out of court this afternoon

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free on bail. But we do not know. The judge is considering the options

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at the moment and she has heard arguments from and the state. The

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charge that he has been here for six months spacing was that of

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premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp. -- facing. Let your mind

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is a swap the prosecution failed to prove. Here are the key moments. --

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let's remind you what the prosecution. I heard a female

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screaming fearfully. She was very very scared of something. Something

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that was threatening her life moments before those shots went.

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That made me know her life was threatened severely in the house.

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That is why she shouted. I have been upset by you for two days now. I am

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so upset. I cant get that day back. I am scared of you sometimes and how

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you snapper needs. How you will react to me. -- how you snapped at

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me. You should not get into trouble. This should not get into the media.

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You were very concerned about it getting into the media. I was

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concerned about both of our futures, my lady. It exploded. Am I correct?

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That is correct. You know that the same happened to the head of the

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team can? Take a look. I will take responsibility but I will not look

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at the picture which wants me. I do not have to look at a picture. I was

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there! I turned around. I said to her to get down and phone the

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police. I made my way as quickly as I could to the wall of the bedroom.

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Just before the entrance to the closet. I do not understand why you

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would not make sure that she was fine before you stormed off. I was

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in a panic. I thought was to get between the perceived danger and

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Reeva Steenkamp as quickly as I could. Why did you fire? I heard a

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noise coming from inside the toilet. I interpreted it as someone coming

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out to attack me, my lady. You just started shooting, accidentally your

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fingers pulled the trigger? I started shooting at that point, my

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lady. At the intruder. At the door. In your mind at the intruders. What

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I perceived as an intruder. It was not accidental. I am getting

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confused with this accidentally and not accidentally. Your version is so

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improbable that nobody would ever think it is reasonably and possibly

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true. It is so improbable. There we are. The key moments of the

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prosecution case. The lead counsel for the state Gerrie Nel becoming

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one of the names to become a household name throughout the course

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of this trial. Barry Roux, the lead counsel for the defence was the

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other one and we saw him robustly trying to defend Oscar Pistorius. He

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tried to make it clear to the judge that he thought Oscar Pistorius was

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a man that had been significantly affect by his disability and was a

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vulnerable person. Let's show you some of the highlights of the

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defence case. They tried to counter the accusation of premeditated

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murder. My lady, whether she was able to make any noise depends on

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two factors, firstly the sequence of shots. If I am wrong and the shot to

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the head was the first one, then obviously she could not have made

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any sound at all. If the shots were fired rapidly, these could have

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easily been discharged within the space of four seconds. I think it

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highly unlikely that she would have made or have been able to call out.

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I would like to apologise. There is not a moment and has not been a

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moment since this tragedy happened that I have not thought about her

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family. I wake up every morning and they are at the first people I think

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God and I pray for. I cant imagine the pain and sorrow and emptiness

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that I have caused you and your family. I was simply trying to

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protect river. When she went to bed that night she felt loved. When you

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were standing with your firearm pointing to the toilet door what

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emotions did you experience? I was terrified. I feared for my life. I

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was scared. I was thinking about what could happen to me and to

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Reeva. I was extremely fearful. I was overcome with a sense of terror

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and vulnerability. There is a card and a message. Roses are red,

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violets are blue and I love you. She signed it with her name and a smiley

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face and kisses. We have seen the court rise because

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the judge has come back in. We will take you live to proceedings at the

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High Court

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