12:40 pm
The afternoon session resumes.

Pistorius' defence barrister Barry Roux turns to husband and wife Burger and Johnson, who gave evidence for the prosecution.

He says there are obvious similarities in their statements. He says it is "quite clear" Johnson altered his evidence to fit with his wife's.

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

12:59 pm
The communication on the day of February 13 - the day before the shooting - is loving, he adds.

He is now tackling the behaviour of police at the crime scene again - he says it was not preserved properly.

12:51 pm
Roux is now talking about the evidence of social worker Yvette Van Schalkwyk, who asked to be a defence witness.

She said: "This man was genuine in his conduct, he was crying, he was retching, he was vomiting, he was concerned for the deceased's family, he was crying out for the deceased."

"It was a man heartbroken about the loss. He cried 80% of the time. The emotions were never about him, it was all about the deceased and the family."

12:48 pm
Roux reads a statement for Reeva's best friend, saying the model really loved Pistorius and could see a future with him.

If Oscar had asked her to marry him, she would probably have said yes.

This was supported by the Valentine's card she sent him, saying she loved him.

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

1:39 pm
Roux says if Pistorius wanted to kill Reeva, he wouldn't have fired low shots from behind a door.

Intention to kill doesn't reconcile with his actions, his emotions, his attempts to save her.

Reeva's bladder was empty, corroborating the assertion she had just been to the toilet.

He says: "It all makes sense... and refutes direct intent".

1:31 pm
Roux says Pistorius does suffer from high anxiety - the prosecution has not challenged this.

When you consider his evidence, says Roux, don't excuse him but consider the "bigger picture" and take a "holistic approach" to his history.

1:26 pm
Roux hammers home that Pistorius' version of events has remained consistent.

He had "no clue" about what he would hear from the other witnesses when he first gave his story.

Nel said that the athlete has never said it was an accident. But Roux said if he thought there was an intruder, "it's a huge accident".

"Must he spell it out?" he adds.

He asks why would he beg for help and cry if he had deliberately killed Reeva?

"[It's] a huge, unfortunate mistake. [His behaviour] is absolutely consistent with that."

1:21 pm
Roux refutes the claim that it was "inconceivable" Pistorius would not have mentioned in his bail application statement that he spoke to Reeva.

He says that statement was a shortened version, with many facts left out.

He summarises: "If that's a baker's dozen, I don't want to eat those cookies because it's not a good one."

1:14 pm
Roux dealing with prosecutor Gerrie Nel's "baker's dozen" of 13 inconsistencies in Pistorius' evidence.

He says Pistorius suffered from a "severe depression in the witness box" and "major stress", but is still criticised for his poor recollection.

1:07 pm
Roux deals with Pistorius' recollection of events after the shooting.

He says his client has difficulty remembering things clearly because he was traumatised - "frantic".

1:05 pm
As Roux begins bringing his closing argument to a close, he has argued Pistorius' innocence based on three separate fronts - lack of motive, his exaggerated "fight" response, and police incompetence at the crime scene.

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

1:56 pm
Roux says that leaves us with culpable homicide - where he says this case should have "started", rather than murder.

The judge must then consider whether he acted as a "reasonable" person.

In this, he says she must take into consideration the fact his legs were off, and the "slow burn" anxiety.

If the judge then finds that his actions were reasonable, then he must be acquitted.

1:48 pm
Did Pistorius foresee the possibility that Reeva was in the toilet, and shoot anyway? asks Roux.

No, he says. He thought she was in the bedroom.

1:45 pm
Roux says it is not strange that Reeva took her phone into the toilet with her - he says this is what young people do.

He says when charged with an offence requiring intent, intention has to be proven.

He adds: "You cannot convict him of murder."

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

"2 min adjournment"

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

Nel gets another go. Roux WARNS that Nel does not have the right of last say... they have to address specific points of law.

Judge Masipa has 3 points that SHE wants to ask.

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

2:21 pm
The judge thanks the state and the defence teams.

She says her verdict will be given at 9.30am on September 11.

The trial is adjourned until then.

2:18 pm
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel says the accused "intended to kill a human being".

He knew a human being was in the toilet, and fired "indiscriminately", so should be convicted of murder.

2:12 pm
Roux has finished his closing statement.

The prosecution, defence and judge are now going over some remaining issues.

The judge asks Nel if she should grant Darren Fresco indemnity. He says he answered all questions (in relation to the firearms charges) honestly so yes.

There are also some questions over the admissibility of a new photograph, which was not presented during the trial.

_________________
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 42 JUDGEMENT DAY

Start 9:30 AM Thursday (9-11-14)

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

wildabouttrial: https://twitter.com/wildabouttrial

#pretorius https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pretorius&src=hash

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/[/quote]

_________________
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

Live Blog - Daily Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... ve-4193557


7:10 am
The verdict is being delivered at a court house in Pretoria, a city in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa.

It is one of the country's three capital cities with a population of around 750,000.

_________________
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

Live outside court..

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

7:23 am
Family members have begun arriving for today's hearing in South Africa.

Pictured here is Reeva Steenkamp's mum June, posted by Martin Brunt of Sky News.

Reeva's father is Barry Steenkamp, and she had two older siblings, Adam and Simone.

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

7:33 am
As well as the families of both Reeva and Pistorius, the court room is also expected to be packed with media from around the world.

They have been queuing to get into the court, where Judge Thokozile Masipa has already arrived.

She is expected to start delivering her verdict at 8.30am UK time.

7:41 am
Award-winning investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas has written for the Daily Mirror this morning on why he believes Pistorius is no murderer, and that Reeva's death was a tragic accident.

Mark is the only reporter in the world who has had access to Oscar over the course of his trial, and has spent the last few days in his company.

He says: "On that morning [of February 14 2013] Reeva’s life was cut short in its prime as a result of what I believe were the reactions of a very frightened man reacting instinctively."

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

7:52 am
Pistorius' brother Carl has arrived at court in a wheelchair, after he was badly injured in a car crash last month.

The athlete's older brother was left in intensive care after being involved in a head-on car crash.

He broke his right arm, leg, and left foot, as well as suffering lacerations to his liver and heart.

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

martinbrunt@skymartinbrunt
#Pistorius Oscar is in there somewhere arriving at court.

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

8:07 amLucy Thornton

Oscar has arrived in court, and hugs his family and friends.

He is looking quite cheerful as he says hello to his defence team.

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

8:14 am
We expect Judge Thokozile Masipa to begin delivering her verdict in just under 20 minutes.

She has spent the last 34 days deliberating.

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