2:02 pm
Pistorius' defence barrister Barry Roux will now begin presenting his closing argument.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

2:38 pm
The case has been adjourned for the day.

Roux will continue with his closing speech tomorrow morning from 8.30am BST.

We'll be bringing you live updates from the court once again then.

2:35 pm
Roux accuses the state of "avoiding objective material facts".

He questions the "blood curdling screams" the prosecution says was heard by the neighbours - but asks how this fits with their case that Reeva spoke to Pistorius through the door at the same time.

He says he will also query the state's timeline.

2:27 pm
Roux says it is their case that the crime scene was "disturbed" by police.

He adds that the prosecution cannot brand the accused a liar because of this.

2:15 pm
Roux takes issue with the fact the prosecution has not explained the first set of noises heard by the neighbours.

He also complains about Nel's suggestion that the accused was claiming some sort of police conspiracy.

But he says the investigating officer Hilton Botha "told blatant lies" to intimidate Pistorius.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

The State vs Oscar Pretorius (Murder 1)



Trial Day 41

Start 9:30 AM Friday (8-8-14)

9:00AM J/Burg ----> 3:00AM ET ----> 2:00AM CT ---->1:00AM MT ---->12:00AM PT
(Times amended to include US clocks moved one hour forward)





Links for Live Streaming

telegraph.co.uk: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... trial.html

wildabouttrial: http://www.wildabouttrial.com/one_off/o ... ve-stream/

channel24.co.za: http://www.channel24.co.za/TV/News/DStv ... d-20140228

mybroadband.co.za: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/ ... aming.html

Mirror.co.uk: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-3201648




Twitter

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Oscar Trial Channel: https://twitter.com/oscartrial199

Factual Updates https://twitter.com/OscarHardTruth

GeraldImrayAP: https://twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

Karyn Maughan (Legal journalist at eNCA): https://twitter.com/karynmaughan



Live Blog

Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-3201648

Sky: http://news.sky.com/story/1225139/live- ... rder-trial

Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/m ... rius-trial

telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -live.html

dailymaverick: http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

enca.com http://www.enca.com/

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Live Blog - Daily Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-4022881


6:43 am
Good morning, and welcome back to our live coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial.

7:07 am
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel was on his feet for almost five hours yesterday

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:20 am
Oscar Pistorius has arrived for the day's hearing.

His father Henke is here again, having come to court for the first time in the five month trial yesterday.



Reeva's parents, June and Barry have also arrived.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Roux showing photos that he referred to yesterday...

In particular the extension lead and "multi-plug" show longer than Nel claimed.. and used to badger Op and call him a liar.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:38 am
Barry Roux has picked up where he left off yesterday, raising objections to a number of smaller details in the prosecution's closing speech.

The court is shown photographs of police at the crime scene, and Roux raises questions about position of fans in Pistorius' bedroom.

He says police showed "no respect" for the crime scene.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:45 am
Roux says they are not alleging a conspiracy by the police, but that objects were moved "inadvertently".

He goes on to raise questions about the differing accounts of which police officers were on the scene.

He asks why the prosecution did not call Investigating Officer Hilton Botha as a witness.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:53 am
Roux addresses what the prosecution referred to as Pistorius' "perception" of an intruder.

But the defence barrister says the athlete has repeatedly maintained this version of events.

He argues that the trial "should have started" at a charge of culpable homicide.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:01 am
Roux says Pistorius fired the shots from the bathroom door, suggesting he was scared.

He moves on to talk about Nel's argument, based on WhatsApp messages, that Reeva was unhappy in the relationship in the weeks before her death.

He says every single WhatsApp message after February 7 shows they had made up - they were "lovey" with kisses.

8:57 am
Roux touches on the prosecution's argument that the bullet holes in the door are in a "good grouping". Gerrie Nel yesterday suggested this showed "aiming", and not "wild" shots.

But Roux says while he is not a good shot: "If you put me two metres from a door and fire four shots, I'm pretty sure I can get a good grouping."

He says the court should not get sidetracked by that issue.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:16 am
Roux says Pistorius grew up knowing: "You're a little boy without legs, you experience daily that you cannot run away. 'I don't have a flight response'.

"Over time you get an exaggerated fight response. That's why you don't go. That's the slow burn.

"That constant reminder, 'I do not have legs, I cannot run away, I am not the same'."

"The moment you're confronted with danger, or perceived danger, it comes to the fore. You are compromised because of the slow burn, because of the anxiety, because of your real position."

9:11 am
Roux says Pistorius is trained as an athlete to react to sound, and he stood there [outside the bathroom door] with his finger ready to react if necessary, then - bang! Roux bangs his hand down on the table

"When he heard that sound, in his vulnerable state, with regard to the slow burn... anxiety... reaction to sound as an athlete."

He says Pistorius' reactions can be interpreted as reflexive. If the court agrees, then Pistorius lacked criminal capacity.

9:06 am
Nel yesterday asked why Pistorius did not ask the security guard for help of call the police after the shooting.

But Roux says he called 911, rather than the police, "which is far more significant because he wanted to save her life".

Roux says the defence agree Pistorius did arm himself, went to the toilet, and saw it might be necessary to fire that shot. He was "anxious, he was fearful", he was vulnerable on his stumps.

He says the insecurities of a disabled person should be considered a "slow burn" over the years, and these events should not be considered in isolation.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:37 am
Roux is now dealing with the firearms charges that Pistorius also faces.

He questions the evidence given by Pistorius' friend Darren Fresco, pointing out he had given given indemnity and so had an "agenda".

He also challenges the evidence given by the athlete's ex Sam Taylor, who accused him of cheating on her with Reeva.

He says she "had a motive".

9:34 am
Roux addresses the Nel's assertion that Pistorius was "aggressive" in the witness box.

He says this was because he was being accused of putting on his prosthetic legs before shooting. The state later changed their position on this, he says.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:58 am
Roux talks about the evidence of security guard Pieter Baba, who said he went past Pistorius' house at around 2am - when he and Reeva are alleged to have been arguing.

But Baba said everything was normal.

"This is fatal for the state," says Roux.

9:52 am
Roux is using phone records to back up the timeline of events provided by Pistorius.

"We know the first shots were about 3.12am. We know the 'help help help' shout about two minutes later."

9:43 am
He goes back to the murder charge, and sets out the "common cause facts".

He says there were four shots fired, fire holes in the door, and four empty shells.

Subsequent to the shots, the door was damaged by a cricket bat.

After the shots, Reeva could not have screamed.

He says there were two sets of sounds. The cricket bat striking the door is not as loud as the gunshots.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:08 am
We are being taken through some of the phone calls made by neighbours.

Roux says phone records contradict the Stipps evidence - and back up Pistorius' timeline.

The court is now taking a 15 minute break.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:11 am
Roux is now going over the screams heard by other neighbours.

He draws attention to those that said they heard a man's scream - backing up Pistorius' case.

10:55 am
Roux is trying to discredit Dr Stipp's evidence, saying the timings do not fit with other evidence.

He also suggests Dr Stipp embellished his evidence the screams he heard to make his description more emotional.

10:40 am
The hearing resumes.

Roux returns to the evidence of neighbour Dr Stipp.

Earlier this morning, he argued that Pistorius' reaction to danger is influenced by a "slow burn" anxiety, caused by the his vulnerability as a result of his life-long disability.

He compared this to cases where a woman kills her husband after years of domestic abuse.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:54 am
He says the evidence about when Reeva ate cannot be accepted as fact.

The court adjourns for a half hour lunch break.

11:47 am
Roux moves on to the issue of how soon Reeva ate before her death.

Nel said yesterday that evidence showed she had eaten two hours before her death - when Pistorius claimed the couple was asleep. He used this to support the argument had been awake and arguing.

Roux says he cannot exclude the possibility that Reeva got up and had something to eat while the the athlete was asleep.

But he says the suggestion she ate in the middle of the night - after eating a meal with Pistorius earlier in the evening - "does not make sense at all".

He says expert witness Professor Saayman "suggested" Reeva had eaten within two hours of her death, but could only provide a "probable time frame", which could fluctuate an hour or two in either direction.

11:35 am
Yesterday, Nel asked why the defence had not called any expert witnesses to testify about their claim that Pistorius sounds like a woman when he screams.

But Roux says they didn't need to because neighbours' evidence said that they heard high-pitched screaming.

11:22 am
Roux says would it make sense, as submitted by the state, that before firing the shots at 3.17am, Pistorius shouted for help?

Or would it make "far better sense" that the first set of sounds heard by neighbours was the gun shots, and he then cried for help when he realised what he had done?

The defence says the second set of sounds was the door being battered down with the cricket bat.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

LUNCH








HALF HOUR ONLY- Due back 1:30pm (local)

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light