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Tag: Reeva Steenkamp

  • S/African prosecutors: Pistorius sentence shockingly lenient

    South Africa’s state prosecutors on Friday describes as `shockingly lenient’, the six-years sentence for murder given to paralympic gold medalist, Oscar Pistorius.

    The prosecutors are asking the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for right to launch an appeal against the judgment.

    Pistorius was imprisoned in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day in 2013. The case has attracted worldwide interest.

    He was not in court for Friday’s hearing.

    Women’s rights groups in the country, beset by high levels of violent crime against women, say Pistorius has received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.

    The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail.

    That conviction was increased to murder by the SCA in December 2015, and his sentence increased to six years by trial judge, Thokozile Masipa.

    The state prosecutors, led by advocate Andrea Johnson, said that the sentence by Masipa was too lenient as the jail term was less than half the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa.

    Johnson said that the high court did not list substantial and compelling factors for deviating from the 15-year sentence, and that Pistorius had not shown remorse for the murder.

    “There is no true, gut-wrenching remorse,” Johnson said.

    “It is shockingly lenient and has accordingly resulted in injustice,” she said.

    However, counsel to Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, said that he did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp.

    Barry Roux, lead defence lawyer for Pistorius, said that the athlete was suffering from severe and worsening post-traumatic stress disorder over the case.

    Roux said that Masipa had addressed the misperception that Pistorius deliberately killed Steenkamp.

    “Leave to appeal should really not be granted,” he said.

    The court did not set a date for when it will rule on whether the appeal can be heard or not.

  • S/A court to hear state’s appeal against Pistorius

    S/A court to hear state’s appeal against Pistorius

    South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal will hear the state’s appeal against the six-year murder sentence handed to Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius on Nov. 3, the National Prosecuting Authority ( NPA ) said on Tuesday.

    The state will argue that six years in jail is too lenient a sentence for the murder by Pistorius of Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, in 2013.

    “The state, in the papers, will stipulate clearly that the sentence imposed is shockingly low,” said NPA spokesman, Luvuyo Mfaku.

    “The presiding officer has the discretion to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence when compelling and substantial circumstances exist.

    “But… with this matter, the presiding officer exercised that discretion in a very lenient manner.”

    Women’s rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women say Pistorius had received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.

    The Court told state prosecutors and the defence in November that they would need to argue their cases in court before it would rule on the matter.

    State prosecutors, led by advocate Gerrie Nel, say the sentence was too lenient as the jail term was less than half the 15 years they had sought.

    In his arguments at the trial, Nel said Pistorius had shown no remorse for the 2013 shooting.

    Lawyers for the gold medalist, known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, say he did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp.

    The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail.

    That conviction was increased to murder by the court in December, 2015 and his sentence increased to six years by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa.

    She dismissed in August, 2016, a request by Nel to appeal Pistorius’ sentence, saying she was not persuaded that there was a reasonable prospect of success at another court.
    Nel then launched his case at the court, in Bloemfontein, 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.

  • Pistorius must pay for his crime- Steenkamp’s father

    Pistorius must pay for his crime- Steenkamp’s father

    Oscar Pistorius must pay for the crime of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, which has devastated her family, her father told a South African court on Tuesday.

    The 29-year-old Paralympian gold medalist faces a minimum 15-year jail term after his manslaughter conviction for the 2013 killing, for which he originally received a five-year sentence, was upgraded on appeal.

    Called to testify by the lead state prosecutor in Pistorius’ sentencing hearing, a tearful and trembling Barry Steenkamp, said forgiving the runner was very hard.

    “It just devastated us; I ended up having a stroke… I just don’t wish that to anybody in this world.

    “He has to pay for his crime,’’ the 73-year-old said.

    Steenkamp said he and wife June had relied financially on their daughter, and he had hurt himself to try to relive the pain that his daughter went through:

    “I jabbed myself with needles,’’ he said.

    He asked the court to allow pictures of his daughter to be shown to the world as a deterrent to would-be killers.

    Jonathan Scholtz, a psychologist called by Pistorius’ lawyer, told the court on Monday that the athlete was “a broken man” on medication for depression, anxiety and insomnia who should be hospitalised and not jailed.

    But prosecutor Gerrie Nel said Pistorius had shown no remorse for shooting and killing Steenkamp when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home.

    The case has prompted a fierce debate in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women. Some rights groups have said the white athlete has received preferential treatment.

    Earlier on Tuesday Ebba Gudny Gudmundsdottir, from Iceland, described the athlete as an inspiration to her 11-year-old son, who has a similar disability to Pistorius.

    The lower part of the athlete’s legs were amputated when he was a baby, and he is known as “Blade Runner’’ for the carbon-fibre prosthetics he wore when racing.

    Gudmundsdottir told the court Pistorius often visited her family in Iceland and her family travelled to Manchester to see Pistorius race.

    “It was an inspiration for him (her son) to see Oscar and the others run,’’ she said.

    At his original trial, Pistorius had argued he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder.

    His manslaughter conviction was upgraded to murder after an appeal heard by the Supreme Court, which ruled in March that Pistorius had exhausted all his legal options.

    The original trial judge, Thokozile Masipa, is also presiding at the sentencing hearing, at Pretoria High Court.

  • Pistorius: A broken man – Psychologist

    Pistorius: A broken man – Psychologist

    A prosecutor told a court on Monday, in Pretoria that Oscar Pistorius has shown no remorse for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, while a psychologist described him as “a broken man” who should not be jailed.

    The 29-year-old Paralympic gold medalist, faced a minimum 15-year jail term after his original manslaughter conviction for the 2013 killing was upgraded.

    The case has prompted a fierce debate in a country beset by high levels of violent crime.

    Some rights groups have said the white athlete has received preferential treatment.

    Professor Jonathan Scholtz, a Psychologist called by Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux, told the court that the athlete at times sat with his head in his hands.

    Scholtz said he was on medication for depression, anxiety and insomnia.

    “One would describe him as broken. In my opinion his current condition warrants hospitalisation.

    “Since 2013, he becomes traumatised when he hears the sound of gunfire and never wants to touch a firearm again,’’ he said.

    Scholtz said Pistorius was once assaulted while in jail, but the Prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, rejected this, saying the complaint register in which Pistorius often raised issues had no report of such an incident.

    He told the hearing, which was attended by Steenkamp’s mother, that Pistorius had suffered financially and found asking others for assistance humiliating.

    “Pistorius lost millions of dollars in endorsements and sponsorship’s after reaching the pinnacle of his fame in London 2012, when he became the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, reaching the 400 metres semi-finals.

    ‘Pistorius had enrolled in a correspondence course for a degree at the London School of Economics and had been offered a job with a charity working with children in Africa,’’ he said.

    The Prosecutor, however, questioned Scholtz’s assertion that Pistorius was not fit to testify, saying the athlete had given a TV interview.

    The hour-long interview with Britain’s ITV is due to air this month, local media have reported.

    Nel told the court that Pistorius shown no remorse for the murder, and that he only “feels sorry for himself”.

    He said Pistorius had temper tantrums and, while serving his sentence, once banged a table when he got upset with a nurse.

    Nel also disputed a claim by the psychologist that Pistorius was traumatised after he saw a prisoner who had hanged himself, saying it was unlikely that he could have seen the victim.

    Pistorius initially received a five-year sentence for culpable homicide, South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter, for shooting Steenkamp through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home.

    He had argued he mistook her for an intruder.

    Luvuyo Mfaku, a Spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, said the position was “to argue for the prescribed sentence to be imposed, that is 15 years.

    While the State prosecutors who lodged the appeal said Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp and that the law graduate and model had fled to the toilet during an argument.

    Report said outside the court, a group held up placards backing the athlete, one of them with the message: “Worldwide supporters of Oscar Pistorius”.

    Members of the Women’s League of the ruling African National Congress party, who have attended the trial in support of the murdered Steenkamp clad in their green and black uniform, said Pistorius should face the prescribed sentence.

    Spokeswoman for the League, Jacqueline Mofokeng, said what they are calling for is fifteen years without parole.

    The final ruling on his sentence is expected by the end of this week.

  • Pistorius parole review hearing postponed

    Pistorius parole review hearing postponed

    South Africa’s parole review board has postponed for two weeks a hearing to decide if Oscar Pistorius can be released early from prison, after being sentenced for killing his girlfriend, local media reported on Saturday.

    The delay was because the board had been unable to finalise all its cases on Friday, when it had been due to meet to decide if Pistorius should be freed on parole or serve a longer period in jail.

    It gave no specific date for another meeting.

    The Paralympics gold medallist was due to be released on house arrest in August after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence, but South Africa’s justice minister blocked his release, saying procedure had not been followed.

    He referred the case to the parole review board.

    The spokesman for South Africa’s prisons could not be immediately reached for comment.

    Pistorius’ spokeswoman said she had to seek advise from her client before making a statement.

    Pistorius was found guilty last September of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, after he fired four 9mm shots through a locked toilet door in 2013 killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, Reuters reported.

    During the trial, prosecutors argued Pistorius had killed Steenkamp deliberately after a row.

  • Pistorius killed our daughter deliberately – Steenkamps

    Pistorius killed our daughter deliberately – Steenkamps

    Oscar Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp deliberately, her parents said, ahead of an appeal hearing in which prosecutors are seeking to overturn a South African court ruling that the athlete was not guilty of murder.

    It was the first time Steenkamp’s parents have spoken out against the court’s verdict, Reuters reported.

    Pistorius, 28, was found guilty last September of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, after Judge Thokozile Masipa said state prosecutors had failed to prove the Paralympic gold medallist had shown “intent” to kill.

    The state argued throughout the six-month trial that Pistorius had deliberately killed Steenkamp when he fired four rounds through a locked toilet door where she was hiding after a row.

    Pistorius said he believed an intruder was inside the toilet cubicle.

    Prosecutors filed an appeal last week asking for the verdict to be changed to murder. They argued Pistorius must have known when he fired that the person behind the door could be killed, even if he did not know it was Steenkamp. The appeal hearing is due to start in November.

    “What actually came out in court is not the truth,” Barry Steenkamp told Australia’s Channel Seven television in an interview aired on Sunday.

    “He got angry, she went off to the toilet, locked herself inside, and then him pulling out the gun and shooting.”

    June Steenkamp adds: “Why didn’t he just let her walk away?”

    Pistorius, nicknamed the “Blade Runner” because of the carbon-fibre prosthetics he used during his career on the track, was due to be released from prison last Friday after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence.

  • South African prosecutors file Pistorius appeal

    South African prosecutors file Pistorius appeal

    South African state prosecutors filed an appeal on Monday against the verdict of culpable homicide passed on Oscar Pistorius for killing his girlfriend, arguing the athlete should have been convicted of murder.

    The Paralympic gold medalist admitted to killing 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 by firing four shots into the locked door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it.

    Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, is due to be released on Friday after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence, in line with South Africa’s custodial guidelines for non-dangerous prisoners, Reuters says.

    During sentencing, Judge Thokozile Masipa said the state had failed to prove Pistorius’ intent to kill when he fired.

    Prosecutors want the verdict, equivalent to manslaughter, changed to murder because they argue that if Pistorius knew someone was behind the toilet door when he fired, he had the intention to kill, one of the prosecution team said.

    “We filed the appeal today,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesman, Luvuyo Mfaku, said.

    Pistorius’ legal team has a month to file its response to the appeal, which the Supreme Court is expected to hear in November, Mfaku added.

  • Steenkamp’s family rejects verdict on Pistorius

    Steenkamp’s family rejects verdict on Pistorius

    The parents of Reeva Steenkamp said “justice was not served” after South African athlete Oscar Pistorius was acquitted of murdering their daughter.

    June and Barry Steenkamp told NBC News of their “disbelief” that the court had believed Pistorius’s version of events.

    Judge Thokozile Masipa found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide, saying the state had failed to prove he intended to kill Ms Steenkamp.

    Pistorius has been allowed bail ahead of sentencing on October 13, the BBC reports.

    Judge Masipa said the athlete had acted “negligently” when he shot his girlfriend through a toilet door, but in the “belief that there was an intruder.”

    The Paralympic sprinter had strenuously denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine’s Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake.

    But in the interview with NBC, June Steenkamp said: “This verdict is not justice for Reeva.

    “I just want the truth. He shot through the door and I can’t believe that they believe it was an accident.”

     

     

  • Oscar Pistorius recounts moment of killing

    Oscar Pistorius recounts moment of killing

    South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has described the moment he fired the shots which killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

    He told his trial in Pretoria he had heard noises from the toilet and thought an intruder was coming out.

    “Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door,” he said.

    The trial of the athlete, who could face life imprisonment if convicted of murder, was adjourned until Wednesday after he broke down crying.

    Shortly before Oscar Pistorius described in court how he had shot Reeva Steenkamp, his lawyer asked him to demonstrate his height without his prosthetic legs.

    Gasps were heard in the overflow courtroom as he slowly walked on his stumps over to the mock-up of the toilet door. His confident demeanour changed – on his stumps he seemed self-conscious. Very few people have seen him like this and it is not an image visible to the world as his testimony is not being televised.

    The court heard for the first time that the athlete had spoken to Ms Steenkamp shortly after waking up, to bring in some fans from the balcony. She had asked if he was having trouble sleeping. Another revelation was how he had whispered to her to get down and phone the police after hearing the sound in the bathroom – but there was no mention of her replying.

    He also did not mention having an argument with his girlfriend that night, rather describing a quiet, couple’s night in. The prosecution argues that he killed her in a fit of rage and neighbours have testified to hearing “loud voices” prior to the four shots Mr Pistorius fired.

    The 27-year-old double amputee denies deliberately shooting Ms Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year. On his first day on the stand, on Monday, he made a tearful apology to Ms Steenkamp’s family.

    The prosecution alleges that Mr Pistorius killed his girlfriend after an argument with her.

    In the early hours of 14 February 2013, he said he had got up from bed to bring in some fans he had left outside, in order to cool his bedroom.

    When he heard a window opening in the bathroom, he said, he thought there was a burglar trying to get in. Wanting to protect Ms Steenkamp, who was not sleeping, he had gone to get his gun in the dark.

    “I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police,” he said.

    He said he then went into the passage without his prosthetic legs and, overcome with fear, started screaming, and shouted for Ms Steenkamp to get to the floor. The toilet door slammed, reconfirming his belief there was a person or people in the bathroom, the athlete said.

    “I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet,” he said tearfully. At that point, he shot at the door.

    After the shooting, Mr Pistorius said he had smashed in a door panel to get into the toilet, where he discovered what he had done.

    “Whilst I leant over the partition to get in, I saw the key, so I took it and I unlocked the door, and I flung the door open, and I threw it open,” he said, sobbing.

     

     

    “And I sat over Reeva and I cried… and um, I don’t know how long… I don’t know how long I was there for… She wasn’t breathing.”

    As the athlete broke down, the judge adjourned the trial.

     

  • Forensic expert contradicts testimony on Steenkamp’s screams

    Forensic expert contradicts testimony on Steenkamp’s screams

    Gert Saayman, a forensic expert, said on Tuesday that Oscar Pistorius’ girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, could not have screamed after she was fatally shot in the head.

    Saayman was testifying at the murder trial of the South African double-amputee Olympic sprinter in Pretoria. His testimony contradicted those of several of Pistorius’ neighbours, who said they heard a woman scream before and after shots were fired in his Pretoria home in February last year.

    Saayman said Steenkamp was first shot in the hip and elbow, and could have screamed before Pistorius fired the fatal shot. The forensic expert was appearing for the second day before the Pretoria court where the 27-year-old athlete has been on trial since March 3.

    Pistorius’ friend, Darren Fresco, also testified on Tuesday, confirming earlier testimonies on two gun-related incidents the athlete was also charged with.

    Fresco said that on another occasion, he was driving when Pistorius fired a gun out of a sunroof after police stopped him for speeding, and also that he discharged a gun in a restaurant. He said Pistorius became angry after a police officer handled his gun which was on the back seat of the car.