We don't know much about the Judge... I agree with the point you make Wroughead.

But.... I think she shows signs of understanding. I think she has shown she does see OP's anguish as real.. and has given Nel the odd tap in regards his nastiness.

She is probably very nervous herself being in front of the (rabid) world.

It seems that in SA she will go away and review all the evidence and make a considered ruling... I am putting some faith in that process.

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

Yes and I agree about the world's media, she will know and wonder perhaps, how she is perceived. I doubt she will have had to sit at trial in these circumstances before, but I think she's made of strong stuff - to be honest in SA as a journalist, bearing in mind she is black, traditionally she would not have been perceived as a journalist, let alone a high court judge - I'd say she's made of good strong stuff to have come as far, through her own hard work, as she has.

Nicely done Thokozile Masipa, I hope sense prevails, and she is definitely listening closely.

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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 hope is she considers the law and the evidence, in the context of "Innocent until proven (by the State) to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt", when deliberating on her verdict.

And that she adds a dash of human compassion when it comes to sentencing.

I hope the Lynch Mobs at True Gossip Forums turn on Nel and post that he did a hopeless job as prosecutor... and that they hate him now lol

Not much to ask?

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

I fear that Nel could drag this out for days... weeks even.

I wonder if there are any limits/norms on how long a cross examination can go on for?

The actual tetimony was 2 an a half dyas.. and short days so closer to just two, and the first day was background, childhood etc which I don’t imagine Nell will be disputing. So... IMO Nel SHOULD be hurried along to finish his cross by the end of tomorrow.!!

But I fear he could drone on a lot longer than that.

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

OP can not be found guilty of any crime involving the shooting at/killing of, an intruder. There was no intruder. No intruder was in any way harmed or even threatened.

OP may well have fired at what he imagined to be an intruder, but me MISSED.

The "imaginary intruder" got away, vanished, was never there.

What did happen is that OP "missed" the "intruder" and hit Reeva... ACCIDENTALLY.

I hope that clears things up for everybody. .

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

6 things we learned from first day of the cross-examination of Oscar Pistorius
Apr 09, 2014 15:05
By Richard Hartley-Parkinson


Horrific head injuries shown to the court
Early in the cross examination, prosecutor Gerrie Nel showed the court a gruesome picture of Reeva as she lay dead at Pistorius' house.

Reeva died in Pistorius' arms
Pistorius said that he realised Reeva was dead in his arms before paramedics arrived at his house.

"It's softer than brain... like a zombie-stopper": Video show Pistorius using the gun that killed Reeva
Video evidence showing Pistorius shooting at a watermelon with the gun he used to kill Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius: "I made a mistake"
Mr Nel tried to dismantle the sympathetic image of Pistorius that the defence had sought to build up in three days of testimony. He opened by asking the athlete to explicitly acknowledge that he had killed Ms Steenkamp.

Neighbours heard crying - not screaming
Barry Roux, Pistorius' counsel, showed Pistorius a picture of the layout of his estate and pointed to the athlete's immediate neighbours.


Pistorius WAS wearing his prosthetic legs when he hit the door with a cricket bat
Earlier in the trial Dr Stipp said he saw someone walk across the bathroom window before hearing three loud bangs.

...more at link
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... ix-3392756

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

Well I am sitting in my conservatory, with my strong black coffee ready for the trial to stzrt.

Well not for nothing do they nickname Nel "the rotweiller". This is how he will 'attack' OP and I also think he will make the most of his world stage, and regardless of the verdict do not be surprised if we see him in some talk show, giving his 'personal' opine!

Reeva's mother has gone on record as having said she doesn't know whether he [OP] is acting in court or not. I feel more sorry for her than for anyone else.

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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

Hi Wroughead...

rotweiller? perhaps.... but he is attacking a helpless kitten, it is simply unpleasant to watch.

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

It is very unpleasant to watch. I thought deliberately showing that pic to the damage to Reeva's head was disgusting and unnecessary.

_________________
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

This ridiculous. Who expects a message or email to be scrutinized word by word? What's next... spelling and grammar?

It's doubly stupid given that there were apparently 4 arguments over thousands of messages.

BTW Nel said none of her messages included "I love you" to OP... yet the start of this block includes her quoted as talking about loving him???

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

"Loving him" was mentioned very early on. But, I just don't think the prosecution have enough better or stronger evidence to push him on.

young couples argue off and on whether face to face or txtg. There are a mere handful of messages throughout their relationship to latch on to. I wish they would move on.

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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 wonder if Roux is just going with the flow, and letting Nel rip, or if at some point he will object?

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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 get the impression they don't as a rule object.

Seems that most stuff is allowed. Obviously there has been some objections... but generally a lot is allowed in a cross examination.

Somebody has dropped the ball if Mungena did say as an absolute that the gun can not discharge unless trigger pulled. I find that hard to believe. I know NOTHING about the model of gun... but ANY mechanical "safety" can fail....

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

"Stupid" "reckless" Pistorius needs to be more careful what language he is using. If he is not careful he could talk himself into a guilty verdict. I think Nel is bringing all the negative characteristics of OP's psyche out by digging away. I don't think this has been a good morning for OP and his team.

I hope this does not turn out to be one of those classic trials where the defence comes out on top at the start only to be overtaken by the prosecution in the last stages of the trial.

It's not now looking good. I think Oscar should listen more to the questions and talk less!

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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 agree.

Stick to yes/no when you can.

Nel actually asks some daft questions... simply answering them as briefly as possible would do little harm.

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

That was just long enough for a ciggie if my memory serves me well. It looks as if he is deliberately asking some daft questions to draw OP out.

Old addage from a prosecution viewpoint "give the man enough rope to hang himself" is the game Nel is slowly and quite deliberately playing.

_________________
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

It seems to me that the defence team have badly counselled their client. I think they should be thinking up a rescue plan about now - the majority of SA already think OP is guilty.

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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

P.s. I think I will refer to you in future as LEO that will be your pet name!

Nel tells Pistorius he must listen to the questions - oh dear Leo this is not great.

_________________
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 is stuffing up badly!!
He has had time to prepare better than this. Roux should have prepared him better than this, and it does sound like there was some serious lapses in communication between OP and his lawyers. All quite hard to believe??


I can only assume that OP's brain is addled by meds... and Roux should have spotted that at least before now.

All is not lost... but I hope Roux is taking note... he needs to fix some serious cracks just to repair the damage that OP is doing now. As well as what he already had planned.

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

Absolutely this should all have been done before now. Whether Roux's client is innocent or guilty he should have primed his client better. Thats what you have a lawyer for, and this is costing OP and his family a lot.

_________________
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