I was thinking the same thing - we have to wait until Monday now LoL.

I can't see the Prosecution pulling something out of the bag now - in fact the State's case is so weak. I think they think OP is lying too.

But, it is not outwith the realms even in a gated community in SA where that same night there had been an intruder at another house, for OP to have immediately jumped to the conclusion that he had an intruder.

I know that when my cousin lived in Pretoria, it was something he came up against on more than one occasion - hence the reason he removed his wife and six children away, it is not a safe place.

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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

Oscar Pistorius: how police bungled the case
The Telegraph's Southern Africa Correspondent Aislinn Laing outlines the three main ways police have hampered the Oscar Pistorius case
5:37PM GMT 14 Mar 2014

South African police faced further embarrassment at the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius when it emerged that a valuable watch had vanished from the crime scene and a ballistic expert had handled the athlete's gun without gloves.

On day 10 of the trial, Colonel Schoombie Van Rensburg, the first policeman to arrive at Pistorius' home, expressed his anger at forensic blunders but had his own work called into question by the defence.

"I told the whole forensic team that those watches were a big concern of mine," he told the court.

...more at link
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -case.html

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

I hadn't heard about the watches until this week. What happened to them I wonder?

I think too that the Judge will have some pictures and facts to hand, that maybe we've not heard about, in order for her to reach a decision.

But, based on what I've both seen and heard so far, I would hate to think OP will spend the rest of his life in prison based purely on this awful evidence. It has to be a much stronger and proven case for me to say he should be found guilty.

I normally side on the victim, I think this is the first case where I'm beginning to feel sorry for the accused (as well as the victim).

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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

The thing is, Wroughhead... you can "feel sorry" for the defendant As well as the "victim" (usually dead person plus family etc).

It is a tragedy when somebody dies (in most cases)... but another tragedy/travesty of the law on top of that does not help.

The Mob types seem to operate on very basic and simplistic principles. If somebody dies, then a perp has to die too (or be locked up for life). Their feeble brains can not conceive of the fact that circumstances may not be such as that.

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

You're right Rumpy and it is for this reason that I'm against the jury system - because we can still have that 'feeble brain' activity taking place on a jury.

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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

The Oscar Pistorius murder trial Day 10
TimesLIVE, Tymon Smith, Graeme Hosken, Sapa, AFP and Reuters | 14 March, 2014 09:27

(A collection of reports from various sources)

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/0 ... ial-day-10

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

Forget Oscar Pistorius – what's really on trial here is misogyny
It is not just South Africa that has a case to answer when it comes to pathetic punishments for men's crimes against women
Zoe Williams
The Guardian, Tuesday 4 March 2014 20.15 GMT


‘If we see the case as synecdoche for the way justice fails women there,
we have to ask how well are women served here.' Illustration by Belle Mellor

The trial of Oscar Pistorius, who denies the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, is – according to the Independent – "the most eagerly awaited trial in South African legal history". That can't be right, can it? This is a nation that saw Nelson Mandela prepared to die for "the ideal of a democratic and free society" in the Rivonia trial. This is a country in which the rule of law and the demands of power stood for years in brutal contradiction. Can this killing, intentional or not, ever hold so much meaning?
[.....]
And yet, of course, there is meaning in this trial: misogyny is on trial; violence against women is on trial; guns are on trial. Drawing a comparison with the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Nation journalist Dave Zirin makes a subtle, thought-provoking point about gated communities themselves, the way they have "become throbbing pods of paranoia and parabellums"; in which reading, even if this is judged accidental, inequality itself is on trial.

South African justice has a case to answer here, with its 14% conviction rate for rapists; but it's not as though the UK or America have anything to crow about in that regard. The wider culture of South Africa is on trial as a nidus of violence against women, a country with the highest recorded incidence of rape in the world, in which three women a day are killed by their partners.

...more at link
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... uth-africa

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

OMFG!

"Drawing a comparison with the killing of Trayvon Martin"

Really?

This sort of feminist diatribe actually does harm to the "victims" it purports to champion.

Deja Vu all over again... Alyce La Violette esque.

A set-back for people who are dealing with "domestic violence", and women who are genuine victims. When you relate "battered women syndrome"t to Jodi Arias, or in this case jump on the bandwagon to promote a personal libtard lesbian feminist agenda. And throw in the daft notions imprinted on Traybot Worriers.
"...misogyny is on trial; violence against women is on trial; guns are on trial."

Give me a break

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

Oscar Pistorius Trial Day 10: Police investigation again at the center as prosecution theory blows up in their face
By Nastasya Tay

PRETORIA, South Africa – In the hours after Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Col. Giliam Schoombie van Rensburg was collecting evidence when he heard a gun being cocked behind him.

Van Rensburg says he turned around to find the police ballistics expert, gloveless, with Pistorius' gun in his hand, having removed the magazine.

"So, I asked him, 'What are you doing?' " van Rensburg said on the witness stand Friday as the trial of Pistorius entered it's 10th day. The officer then looked down and realized he was not wearing gloves.

"And then he said, 'Sorry,' " the colonel testified, adding that the ballistics officer put the magazine back in the gun and laid it back on the bathmat, before pulling on the gloves in his pocket and picking it up again.

"I was very angry," van Rensburg told the court.

It was police bungles – such as this – that found the limelight Friday.
[....]
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel triumphantly noted that the metadata contained in the photographs would prove their timeline, requesting to have it displayed on court monitors – only to show that the camera used had the date incorrectly programmed as April 2008.

Earlier, when confronted with conflicting statements of several colleagues from Valentine's Day morning last year, van Rensburg found himself again shaking his head.

The colonel insists he was the first officer to arrive at Pistorius' home, yet Roux read a statement detailing how another officer had arrived on the scene before him and followed the blood trail before providing a perfect description of the bathroom where Steenkamp was shot.

"Amazing," van Rensburg said as he listened to Roux, laughing disbelievingly. "I say, it's amazing, because he was not there."

... more at link
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oscar-pist ... 38835.html

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

Keystone Kops much

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

Keystone kops - too true. As for the article in the Guardian (I never read that one) you are correct. There was a documentary on here a couple of weeks ago, where a white woman very well to do, well spoken etc., in a gorgeous house, had been gang raped six months ago. She had invited other women from her neighbourhood to the house as they collectively wanted some kind of action taken to stop crimes like this from happening.

You know I say to myself, why do women live in countries like that, but of course, it's because they were born there probably, I just can't believe a so-called civilized country allows this to happen.

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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

FWIW
At True Gossip Forms there is talk of OP being (in posters assessment) suffering from some sort of psychological disorder.. Narcissistic personality (whatever they think that means).... "Sociopath" is the default. They love to diagnose from afar. The funny thing is that the LAST thing the Mob want is for a perp to actually be DIAGNOSED with a psychological condition that "excuses" the crime and perhaps might lead to them diverted to an institution for treatment, rather than to prison.

Even IF there was any validity in a diagnosis done by uninformed lay people.. from a distance based on VERY limited information... filtered through news reports etc... I do wonder why they bother? It would seem to me to be of little value to make a diagnosis of a psychological disorder AFTER the fact. If it were to be of any value it would be to predict potential bad behaviour (murderous intent) and so avoid it. The truth is that psychological and psychiatric "Labels" are of little use EVEN in a clinical setting. A handy thing to write on a folder containing a patient's case notes, but not much use during assessment and any potential treatment. Any half informed psychologist/psychiatrist will concede that "Individual Differences" override any simplistic assignment of broad type. Psychological assessment always includes "scores" on a range of traits.. any one tendency can only be assessed in combination with others. For instance, some sort of high score on a "Narcissism" scale may be a plus in people who are artists or public performers etc etc. (which fits in with OP being an international "star" to some extent). You simply CAN NOT just say a person is "a narcissist" A person is a whole bunch of things in combination.
Since the gossipers decree that every defendant is a "sociopath" it has lost it's "Wow" value I would think? It never is properly defined by gossipers. It seems that anybody they decree to be guilty of a crime is also a "sociopth". Those doing the labelling are often proved to be WRONG in their assessments around cases generally. When defendants are proved to be not guilty of the crime, it is some indication that they are also "not guilty" of all the stuff that Gossipers imagined along the way. When a defendant is found guilty gossipers do not want him (her) excused because of their "diagnosis" The gossipers back off. I guess what they are saying (in an Eric Idle voice) is ".... well yeah, he's a "sociopath"... but that's no excuse, his conviction stands and he has to go to pris and not an institution where he can be treated for a mental disorder" I wonder again what is the point of all the daft psychological crap in every case discussion?

Aside:
As far as "psychological assessments" go, there is a LOT more useful data in what people post over a long period of time. Stuff about THEM rather than the defendants they nibble away at for a short period. I could write a book

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

What you say is very valid from your observations of that discussion group. Would it not be the case,. however, if any of it were true in reference to OP it would have come out months ago at all the pre-trial stuff, then subsequently under his being mentally examined.

If true, it wouldn't mean that he was still unfit to stand trial or, knew right from wrong - so as far as I'm concerned its beside the point.

Some people make a great show of transferring conditions they have themselves to others !!!

_________________
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

I think the advent of "Poplar psychology" in the 60's and 70's has a lot to answer for

Psychological "self-help" books became best sellers. Many of them were simplistic, but touched on things designed to ring true with most readers. There is certainly room for people to be aware of some of the simple psychological factors in play in everyday lives, and people certainly CAN use that awareness in their own lives, but.... and it's a big but... it is very dangerous to start applying such simplistic notions to serious psychological abnormalities.... Imagined in oneself, and certainly in others who you have only scant knowledge of.

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

I see a lot of posting about what it is OP has to prove?

I know the Judicial system gets a little screwed up at times and defendants do wind up having to "prove" things, but overall the "British" system of Justice (evolved to apply in many countries) is still:

"Innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt" (The BURDEN OF PROOF never leaves the State).

Perhaps the nearest thing to an exception is when a defendant evokes "self defence" as his defence. He does have to present that case. However, the BURDEN is still with the State to disprove that.

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

The hole in bedroom door and damage at bottom has people excited. I too wonder what the OP explanation of that is. Also blood spatter above headboard and on duvet?

Of course I have not seen report on WHOSE blood any of the spatters are. One assumes most of the blood is Reeva... in the obvious places where she was shot and then carried. Also her blood transferred by a bloodied OP. I don't know if any blood spots were old? part of the Keytone Kops sloppy CSI? We will just have to wait until Roux tells us

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

The blood spatter has got me wondering too. It could easily be this occurred as he picked Reeva up and went then to take her downstairs - we don't know. However, what i'm wondering about is that after death the heart is no longer pumping blood, therefore as we have been led to believe she probably died the instant that bullet hit her head, why then afterwards did she continue to bleed!!!!

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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

My understanding is that shot to head incapacitated instantly... but it's stated she stopped breathing (Died) in OP's arms... downstairs.

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

Oh you're absolutely right, they did say she died in his arms, so it could still have been her blood.
I did say this trial would last well beyond its original 3 weeks, seems I'm right as there is, I imagine still a lot more to come from Defense case.

She had lost a lot of blood you can see this clearly, it stands to reason some of it would flush off as I'm assuming his walking downstairs would be rushed, he certainly wouldn't have been leisurely taking her downstairs, he'd be frantically doing so, therefore the blood would just about go everywhere in that case.

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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

I think there is something a bit funny with pics taken of OP.

OP says lots were taken.. and that makes sense, yet Van Staden says just 4??

And later 5 pics were of prosthesis really. The photo numbers of all 9 were sequential... how can that be? There were other photos in between. The numbering must be just assigned numbers later... not the sequential number from the camera.

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