Witness is on to Nel. Nel is all about REVENGE (Retribution) he can not grasp the concept of rehabilitation etc Nasty little man
#Pistorius

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

Recap on events so far today - Daily Mirror Live Blog

Oscar Pistorius arrived at Pretoria High Court this morning for a sentencing hearing that will determine whether he serves jail time for the negligent killing of his girlfriend, or walks out a free man.

A stony-faced Pistorius stared straight ahead as police officers escorted him into the court building.

He declined to answer questions from the scrum of reporters but greeted his family inside the court with smiles and hugs.

After a six-month, on-off trial that captivated South Africa and millions more around the world who admired Pistorius as a symbol of triumph over physical adversity, opinion is starkly divided on the eventual outcome.

A non-custodial sentence would be likely to spark public anger, fuelling a perception among black South Africans that, 20 years after the end of apartheid, wealthy whites can still secure preferential justice.

The psychotherapist who treated Pistorius, Dr Lore Hartzenberg, addressed the court.

She said: "Some of the sessions were just him weeping and crying and me holding him."

She told the court that Pistorius had planned a future with Reeva Steenkamp and that she was "the one" for him.

She revealed that Pistorius felt deep remorse for Reeva's death and for her family.

She said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The second defence witness called was social worker Joel Maringa who recommended that Pistorius be put under house arrest for three years and made to do community service - rather than go to prison.

...more at link
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-4428838

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

In short: Defence is suggesting OP avoids jail, be put under house arrest(3 years), does 16 hrs a month community service with cleaning

Seems OK to me. Bonus will be all the Splodey Head Neltards

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

It does seem there are enough mitigating circumstances that would help keep him out of prison. This could take some days to go it all.

Too funny.

Thanks for putting the proceedings on your site it makes my day much easier.

From what I have read Nel has a rough road to hoe and his personal anger seems to be palatable. Not really exuding confidence or professionalism.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

And I agree with Aavi that I have no problem putting my faith in Masipa.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

It seems that Nel is taken by surprise by the credibility that is being presented by the witnesses.

And why does he need more time to go over papers if he had them already?

Nel seems that he will be satisfied with nothing other than Oscar being declared a monster. Nel seems to still be arguing the verdict not the sentencing.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

Revenge?

Revenge?

I think it is more self righteousness and the embarrassment of having gotten it all so wrong.

Nel is not a good poker player.

The fact that one of the first things the therapist stated is that because the State brought about an improper charge of premeditated murder it has complicated the grief process for Oscar and what was implied there is that if Nel had not overcharged Oscar perhaps could have had that sit down talk with the Steemkamps and perhaps given them some answers. Nothing will bring back Reeva or end the Steemkamps pain but all this nonsense of domestic abuse and a knock down drag out fight has certainly exasperated it.

A portion of the suffering of the Steemkamps has been squarely put on Nel's shoulders by the first witness. A portion on the their suffering has been put on the malevolent press and social media haters who have ignored facts and propagated “theories” as facts.

The witness never once blamed anyone for Reeva’s death other than Oscar but the way Nel, the media, and internet haters have acted has without a doubt added to the Steemkamp’s pain.

An interesting aside is that for the first time since it’s creation the DSM V defines extended grief as a mental health disorder. I believe it must be a deep incapacitating grief (defined by a therapist) that lasts more than two years. Personally I still think Oscar is suicidal.

Watch for smoke to be coming out of Nel’s ears tomorrow.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

Darn I stopped listening right before she said *He is unlikely to recover from the events of February 14th” she has put Nelin the postion of having to advocate for a prison cell for a man with a diagnosed mental disorder. A man the judge has deemed negligent not malicious.

I will listen to Nel in a bit. My prediction is that he is a petulant piece of work.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

Good gravy Nel is digging a hole with his own questions, the therapist insisting that Oscar was so mentally incapacitated that she could not give him hope for a future but simply “hope for the next day”. She is talking about a person presenting as a danger to himself.

And what a little bitch Nel is after pushing her to answer his question about her and Oscar speaking about Oscar’s future when she finally answers him he tells her that she “snuck that in” about Oscar wanting to go and work at his Uncles school. What a moron.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

I do understand the “pit bull” nick name. Like a pit bull Nel bites something and simply hangs onto it, even when it would better to let it go. This nonsense about the “lost career” it does not take a genius to figure out that a 27 year old runner who has been idle for over a year, is an emotional basket case and has lost at least 30 pounds has “lost his career” as an elite runner.

Let it go Nel. Masipa probably wants to swat him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.

Nel’s trying to put words in people’s mouths is petty and annoying.

And Puffer Fish Nel thinks that his points are unassailable because he pouts, “I’ve marked them!”

What a buffoon.

Nel seems to always be internally

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

I am losing interest in this case I'm afraid. Basically, because I can't tolerate all the comings and goings of what we are seeing here of the SA judicial system. The decision was reached that he was guilty of manslaughter, now we are to endure days of evidence, almost like a second trial, to determine what his sentence should be - sorry but it's the stuff of nonsense to me.

He is not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter, at the end of the day he is alive and she is dead. I would have thought the very least that should happen is that he gets jail time, as I feel that would be justice regardless of the circumstances. Personally, I feel he should serve time in prison.

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Since we are destined to live out our lives in the prison of our minds, our one duty is to furnish it well~Peter Ustinov

Just caught up on today's proceedings.

Why on earth is Nel still trying to question the validity of the verdict at the expense of those offering opinion on recommended sentencing? The verdict's been made and he should have moved on by now. He's doing neither himself nor Reeva's family any favours by revisiting scene of crime testimony in an effort to attack the credibility of those professionals on the stand.

I fully expect him to use certain tactics in an effort to achieve a harsh sentence, but the way he's going about it just reeks of his own bitterness towards the verdict. Mr Nel needs to understand that this trial isn't a personal vengeance mission, and that there are grieving families and individuals involved.

The man's clearly a buffoon.

Nope...I take that back...a buffoon can often be amusing.

Hi Carm and Wroughead.
(ETA Hi Steve, see a post as I submit this)

Hang in there Wroughead we are in the home stretch.

Nel is a nutcase. He is nasty and vindictive. I think he has had a breakdown of sorts. At times so angry he jumbles his words into meaningless phrases. I cant quote an example but there were many. One in particular I recall was confused phrase ending with "Is the answer". The therapist lady, quite rightly paused and asked Nel if that was a question. It made no sense at all. He latches on to some silly hypothetical construction of how HE sees things and badgers the witnesses with unanswerable hypothetical questions. Nel is hanging on to his own invention of a case with a vicious Oscar. Seems Nel did not get the Memo that his Veeersion was rejected by the court (and all sane observers) as nonsense.
And the time wasting!!!! The evidence being presented is NOT what Nel likes, but it's not complicated. He should be able to cross examine without need of delay to read and invent issues. If Nel had ANY class he would let it go. No real need to cross examine OP personal therapist, and certainly no need to challenge a list of OP's past charity and compassion.

Nel is a bully. I seriously hope that people in his personal life are safe from his anger and violence. If he has a significant other i would not be surprised if the relationship involved DV. Me thinks there is a LOT of transference of Nel's own nasty motivation and behavior onto Oscar.

I do think Nel's past cases should be reviewed. There is little doubt that his technique is to bully and badger witnesses

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

I just listened to some of Joel Maringa’s testimony.

The witness, Joel Maringa, is testifying to the pertinent facts of the verdict, there is no reason a rational person would say Oscar should have between hearing the noise in the bathroom and firing the gun changed his bullets to less lethal ones, it it nonsense. The sentence must be based on the verdict not Nel’s “version” of facts. Nel acts as if he is ignorant to the findings of the verdict.

Masipa herself said that the type of ammunition is irrelevant because of the finding of negligence. Nel is still trying the case. The court found that this a case of negligence not premeditated murder or murder. It seems as if Nel does not realize that the sentencing will reflect the verdict. It is a bit bizarre to watch his cross examination.

Marigna kept reminding Nel of the verdict.

“One aspect of that needs to be considered is that the accused is convicted of culpable homicide. So being that the case there are numerous occasions where in which correctional supervision is a suitable sentence when it comes to culpable homicide…..In this case we are basically looking after the manner of negligence, not intention, he was negligent in the manner in that he unintentionally fired.

A social worker schooling a seasoned attorney on the law. Amazing.

The fact that Nel asked Maringa why he would recommend a 3 year sentence if he sympathized with the family shows that Nel has not accepted the verdict nor does Nel understand what his insistence on a version of events that is inconsistent with the facts is doing to Reeva's mum and dad.

My sympathies lie with the Steemkamps.

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If your mind is agitated you will find agitation everywhere. Where else will you find peace if not within you? __ Papaji

There are prosecutors that give rise to needing new words in the dictionary to describe them but this one is just an arrogant little snot.

From day one they had it wrong--big time wrong. Nel was overheard in the bail hearing saying "there goes my case" when Botha was getting a merciless routing by Roux. And they were in quicksand up to their neck. Instead of doing the honorable thing, they took the low road and made up a case. It was pure fiction. It was an abhorrent attempt at saving face. Early reports were everything from--he shot her in the bedroom to he beat her bloody with the cricket bat.

Then after the investigation where the facts are supposed to be sorted out from the passion to rush to a murder charge, they didn't even know that he was on his effing STUMPS! It made me livid. That detail alone turns the case 360 degrees.

What makes my blood pressure rise is these witnesses giving Nel exactly what he wants. They blabber on and on. It's a genuine sincerity on their part to try to show the court that their answer is not deceptive but when you do that, you give this cretin the opportunity to take your words and mangle them. Or give him that opportunity to put his foot on the chair and make that smug comment--"now answer my question." I want to kick him right in the nuts. But the witnesses tee it up. They should just give one or two sentence answers and let him swing in the breeze.

Another thing they should do is give thoughtful measured answers and take their time giving every answer. This infuriates lawyers because there is nothing they can do in the awkward silence but wait. They shouldn't give him one iota more than the question calls for and make him work for every tidbit of information. Nel would implode. He's not a skilled lawyer. He's a parasite and feeds off the long winded answers of the witnesses. This should be coached in witness preparation, especially for being cross examined by an indolent little troll like Nel. I really fault Roux for not doing this.

Malinga was the classic example. He took Nel to school and predictably--just as he would if others had done the same thing--Nel buckled like a three legged card table. Nel is a classic narcissist and there is no scum tactic he won't resort to to try to prevent this from becoming a virtual Desert Storm. Oscar has been found innocent of 4 of the 6 charges already and Now a State employee has just tuned the case into a rout for Oscar not even recommending a custodial sentence.

It makes me wonder how many other prosecutions of others that Nel pillaged his way through with lies and mirages that he served up to the judge instead of a search for the truth. And those South Africans now vegetating in a overcrowded jail cell of squalor and disease because they couldn't afford the defense Oscar had. I wouldn't trust Nel to ever search for the truth.

I'm convinced Oscar would have laid his own life down for Reeva. No productive purpose is going to be served by locking him away for 8-10 years. I'm more and more convinced that this is not going to happen.

And as for Nel, if I ever hear him or see him again, it'll be too soon.

This was an awkward encounter between Pistorius and ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor in the court room earlier.

She has spoken of her life of hell with Oscar after the athlete bit and punched her during their 18-month relationship.

Speaking of Oscar shooting Reeva, she said: "It could have been me."

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

Alex Crawford@AlexCrawfordSky
Vergeer said OP was paying monthly payments to the family and offered to pay lump sum to family too

Nel emphasised the Steenkamps would repay every cent of OP's money. No explanation about what changed their minds

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

Seems Nel has got Stemkamps family going along with his vindictiveness?

If they now SAY they will give money back.. why did they take it first place?

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