Judge Masipa said that a lying accused does not necessarily mean he is guilty. She moved on to say that the deceased was killed under very unusual circumstances. She asked why Pistorius didnt try to alert Steenkamp to the possible danger or determine her whereabouts before approaching the bathroom when in his mind she was just a few metres away. It was also strange that he fired four times rather than once. She said that such questions could only be the subject of conjecture. However, she said that even if Pistorius explanation for the shooting was improbable, a court could not convict someone if reasonable doubt still existed. For the murder charge, Masipa said the evidence was completely circumstantial. The timelines set out by the defence tipped the favour of the accuseds version, she said. The state had clearly not proven beyond reasonable doubt that he committed a premeditated murder. However, she said that if Pistorius could have foreseen the death of the person upon which he fired at, then he could still be convicted of dolus eventualis, which still falls under the charge of murder.(Very Important) She said that Pistorius believed the person behind the door was an intruder, but the question remained if he intended to kill that Person. Masipa said that if Pistorius had acted in private self-defence, he would have acted lawfully which still needs to be verified to be true. If his life had indeed been in danger, the court could exclude dolus eventualis, according to Masipa. She said that Pistorius had claimed he had no intention to kill, but the court had to use evidence to determine intention. Masipa said that the athlete could have been fearing for his life, and the open bathroom window could have further triggered this. She said the state had not provided enough evidence to show he understood he could have killed someone behind the door. “How could the accused have foreseen that the shots he fired could have killed the deceased?” asked Masipa. She said witnesses had shown Pistorius was genuinely distraught on the night of the shooting, and that this could not have been play-acting on Pistorius part. Masipa added that Pistorius had told the same version on the night of the murder, and during the bail application, without having any serious contradictions. She said that this excluded the charge of dolus eventualis.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 12:00:12 +0000
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