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Oscar
PISTORIUS
Classification: Homicide
Characteristics: According to Pistorius, he shot
his girlfriend believing she was an intruder
Pretoria - Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to
five years in prison for killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp,
after his defence team's arguments in mitigation were shattered by
Judge Thokozile Masipa.
He was also sentenced to three years, suspended for
five years, for firing a pistol under a table at Tasha's restaurant in
Johannesburg in January 2013.
The sentences would run concurrently.
Masipa began her sentencing at the High Court in
Pretoria on Tuesday morning summarising a week's worth of mitigation
and aggravating arguments.
Pistorius was found guilty of last month of
culpable homicide for causing the death of Reeva Steenkamp, as well as
a charge of negligently handling a firearm in a separate incident.
Judge Masipa said while throughout the trial she
had two assessors to assist her, but the sentencing decision was hers
alone.
She said finding an appropriate sentence is a
difficulty faced by criminal courts on a daily basis as there were
sometimes more than a single correct sentence.
Masipa said that in mitigation of sentence, the
defence called four witnesses while the State called just two for
their arguments in aggravation.
She described the testimony of Pistorius's
psychologist, Dr Löre Hartzenberg for the defence, who said she had
been treating Pistorius since shortly after the shooting in February
last year.
Hartzenberg said the court needed to take into
account Pistorius's life having been left in tatters, with few
friends, no career and a life now full of mental anguish.
Masipa said the next witness, Joel Maringa, a
social worker, had recommended Pistorius should be kept under
correctional supervision (house arrest) for three years and serve 16
hours of community service per month.
Pistorius's manager, Peet van Zyl, was the third
witness, who highlighted the athlete's worldwide charity work during
his illustrious career.
Van Zyl's evidence was that prior to the shooting,
Pistorius was commonly perceived as a global sporting icon, who had
given his time and money to various worthy causes.
According to Van Zyl, the opportunity to do this
had been taken from Pistorius since Steenkamp's death.
The fourth witness was another social worker,
Annette Vergeer, who spent much of her time on the stand decrying the
poor status of local prisons.
She told the court that the prisons could not cater
for Pistorius's special needs.
The State's first witness was Steenkamp's cousin,
Kim Martin, who gave an in depth summary of the model's working and
personal life.
Martin told the court of how close Steenkamp was to
her parents, Barry and June, and helped them financially. Masipa noted
how Martin had only met Pistorius once, a month before Steenkamp's
death. Martin recalled the chaotic aftermath for her extended family
when they were informed of the death.
Barry's health suffered from the stress of the
death, according to Martin.
Lastly, the State brought the acting National
Director at the Department of Correctional Services, Zac Modise, who
insisted that the prison system could humanely detain the athlete.
Masipa then moved onto Pistorius's personal
circumstances as a double amputee and world renowned paralympian.
She said he no longer had any assets, and had no
previous convictions.
Masipa said she was not impressed by Vergeer as a
witness, as her evidence was poor and used outdated information,
especially concerning the prison system. She said this had a negative
impact on Vergeer's credibility, and said the State was right in
describing her evidence as “sketchy” and biased for someone with 28
years of experience.
Modise impressed the Judge, however, as a witness
who genuinely wanted to inform the court that while local prisons
weren't perfect, they could cater for special needs. She said she was
satisfied that disabled prisoners would be correctly looked after.
She added that if Pistorius has any issues with his
accommodation if sent to prison, he had every right to approach the
courts.
Judge Masipa recalled how the defence had argued
Pistorius would also need mental rehabilitation for his numerous
anxieties, but she believed Modise had established that such care
would be available, and the athlete could bring in his own doctors.
She said that pregnant women, one of the most
vulnerable groups in society, have been incarcerated in the past, with
the department able to care for them.
She said it would be a major concern if there was a
perception of one law for the poor, and another for the rich and
famous.
Masipa also believed that the defence had placed
too much emphasis on his vulnerability, when he had been living his
life as a confident athlete who competed with the able-bodied.
She said her judgment was designed to bring forth
the real picture of who Pistorius was.
Masipa said Pistorius had helped changed the
public's perceptions of the disabled, and inspired other young people.
She said this can't be ignored but had to be put in perspective, as
his manager told the court it would have been a poor career move not
to get involved with charities.
Masipa did believe, however, that Pistorius was
remorseful for his crimes, as evidenced by his attempts to privately
apologise to the Steenkamp family.
She said the defence had argued Pistorius's poor
mental state had been exacerbated by the media reports surrounding
him. Masipa said she had taken note that the sheer number and
availability of these reports could indeed be a factor in mitigation.
The judge said that while the interests of society
are a necessary concern in providing a sentence, the court should not
be part of a societal popularity contest, and rather pursue justice to
its fullest extent.
“Retribution... is not the same as vengeance,” she
said.
She said, however, that while the population could
consider a lenient sentence as a failure of the court, the threat of
mob justice should not deter from a righteous sentence.
Masipa said she hoped that her ruling would provide
closure for all concerned, “so they could move on with their lives”.
In a comparison with another case similar to that
of Pistorius's, Masipa said the athlete had not been trying to scare
off an intruder, but rather trying to shoot him.
In her conclusion, Masipa said the sentence of
correctional supervision as recommended by the defence witnesses was
“not appropriate” for this matter because of the severe negligent
behaviour of the athlete.
She said a non-custodial sentence would send the
wrong message to society, but that a long sentence was not appropriate
either.
In respect of the second shooting incident at a
Tasha's restaurant, she said a sentence of direct imprisonment was not
appropriate as no one was hurt.
After telling the athlete to rise, Masipa sentenced
Pistorius to five years in prison for cupable homicide and three years
imprisonment for the second charge, but wholly suspended. The two
sentences were set to run concurrently.
Pistorius managed to hold hands with some of his
family members before he was led down towards the cells.
After giving out her verdict, the judge thanked the
counsel on both sides for their help during the trial and the public
gallery for their behaviour. Masipa said: “I want to thank the
gallery. It was not an easy matter.”
After the sentence was handed down, National
Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube said the organisation was
originally disappointed with the culpable homicide conviction, but had
taken solace in the fact that Pistorius would see some time behind
bars.
He said a non-custodial sentence would have been
inappropriate, and that the NPA will consider whether they may appeal
the sentencing.
Mncube said it would be a difficult decision as the
case was far from "straightforward".
Meanwhile, he said he believed Pistorius would be
taken straight to prison from the courthouse.
The trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder
of Reeva Steenkamp and several gun-related charges (The State vs Oscar
Pistorius) in the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria opened on 3
March 2014. On 11–12 September 2014, Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered
a verdict that Pistorius was not guilty of murder, but guilty of the
culpable homicide of Steenkamp and reckless endangerment with a
firearm at a restaurant. The trial was adjourned until 13 October for
sentencing.
Pistorius is a leading South African runner, who
won attention as an athlete with a disability competing at a high
level, including at multiple Paralympic Games and the 2012 Summer
Olympics. Steenkamp, a model, was his girlfriend. In the early morning
of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Steenkamp was shot and killed by
Pistorius at his Pretoria home. Pistorius acknowledged that he shot
Steenkamp, but said that he mistook her for an intruder. Pistorius was
taken into police custody and was formally charged with murder in a
Pretoria court on 15 February 2013.
On 25 February 2014, Judge President Dunstan Mlambo
ruled in the High Court in Pretoria that the entire trial could be
broadcast live via audio and that parts of the trial could be
broadcast live via television, namely the opening and closing
arguments, the testimony of consenting state witnesses, the judgment,
and the sentencing if applicable.
Bail hearing
The bail hearing commenced on 19 February 2013
under Chief Magistrate of Pretoria Desmond Nair. During the hearing,
both prosecution and defence said that Pistorius had fired four shots
through a locked toilet door, hitting Steenkamp, who was inside, three
times. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel claimed that Pistorius had put on his
prosthetic legs, walked across his bedroom to the bathroom, and
intentionally shot Steenkamp through the door. Nel argued that the
time required for this process was sufficient to establish the alleged
murder as premeditated. Pistorius said that he had thought Steenkamp
was in the bed, and that the person in the toilet was an intruder.
Chief investigating officer Hilton Botha said at
the bail hearing that a witness had heard gunshots coming from
Pistorius' home and then a female screaming followed by more gunshots;
he initially said the witness was 600 metres (2,000 ft) away, but
later said the distance was 300 metres (980 ft). Botha also said the
trajectory of the gunshots indicated that they had been fired downward
and directly toward the toilet, seemingly conflicting with Pistorius'
statement that he was not wearing his prosthetics at the time. He
acknowledged that procedural mistakes had been made during the crime
scene investigation and that police had found no evidence inconsistent
with the version of events presented by Pistorius, adding later that
equally nothing contradicted the police version, either.
On 22 February 2013, Botha was removed from the
case following revelations that he was facing attempted murder charges
stemming from a 2009 incident. Botha was replaced by Vineshkumar
Moonoo, described as "the most senior detective" in the South African
Police Service.
On the first day of the bail hearing, Magistrate
Nair ruled that for the purposes of the bail hearing Pistorius was
charged with a Schedule 6 criminal offence, which relates to serious
crimes including premeditated murder and requires exceptional
circumstances for release on bail.
On 22 February 2013, at the conclusion of the
four-day bail hearing, Magistrate Nair said that the state had not
convinced him that Pistorius posed a flight risk and fixed bail at R1
million (US$113,000). On 4 June 2013 the court case was postponed to
allow time for further investigation until a hearing at Pretoria
Magistrate's Court on 19 August 2013, when Pistorius was formally
indicted on charges of murder and the illegal possession of
ammunition. The indictment noted that even if Pistorius was mistaken
in the identity of the person he shot, the intention was to kill.
In late June 2013, Pistorius returned to training,
reportedly looking much thinner and wearing a beard. His agent said
that it was a very emotional experience for Pistorius and that
returning had been a "bittersweet" moment for him.
Trial
Dates for a trial to be held at the Gauteng
Division of the High Court were initially set from 3 to 20 March 2014, and later extended until 16 May 2014. The court was set to
adjourn after proceedings on 17 April 2014, returning on 5 May 2014,
to accommodate scheduling conflicts of the prosecution.
The murder trial commenced on 3 March 2014 in the
High Court in Pretoria. Pistorius was also facing a charge of illegal
possession of ammunition and two charges of firing a gun in a public
space. The trial was assigned to Judge Thokozile Masipa, who appointed
two assessors, Janette Henzen du Toit and Themba Mazibuko, to help her
evaluate the case and reach a verdict. There was no jury, the jury
system in South Africa being abolished during apartheid.
Section 35 of the South African Bill of Rights
provides that "Every accused person has a right to a fair trial, which
includes the right... to be tried in a language that the accused
person understands or, if that is not practicable, to have the
proceedings interpreted in that language". At the start of the trial,
Judge Masipa told the court that the proceedings would be held in
English with the assistance of interpreters, and confirmed that
Pistorius spoke English. Difficulties related to court interpreters
have led to court delays, mistranslations and witnesses opting to
testify in English rather than their first language.
The opening statement of prosecutor Gerrie Nel
noted that the murder case against Pistorius was based largely on
circumstantial evidence, as there were no eyewitnesses to the
incident. Contrary to statements made in the bail hearing, the
prosecution's case in the trial was that Pistorius was not wearing his
prosthetic legs at the time of the shooting, or when he broke the
toilet door down afterwards.
Prosecution expert witness Christian Mangena, a
police ballistics analyst, testified "the shooter was most likely not
wearing prosthetic legs". Prosecution expert witness Johannes
Vermeulen, a police forensic analyst, testified Pistorius was not
wearing his prosthetic legs when he broke the toilet door down with a
cricket bat after the shooting. Pistorius pleaded not guilty to all
the charges against him, including murder and three gun-related
charges.
In his opening statement read out by Pistorius
family lawyer Kenny Oldwage, Pistorius said he believed Steenkamp was
in bed when he shot at what he thought was an intruder behind the
toilet door, and that he had spoken to her in bed shortly beforehand.
He admitted to killing Steenkamp, but denied the charge of murder.
The lead defence advocate in the case was Barry
Roux. In South African criminal law, murder is defined as the
intentional unlawful killing of another human being. The defence of
Pistorius was that, in shooting at what he believed to be an intruder,
he mistakenly believed he was acting in self-defence, and as self-defence
excludes the unlawfulness requirement of criminal liability, an act in
valid self-defence is lawful. Technically his defence amounted to a
claim that he did not intend to act unlawfully. If he could raise a
reasonable doubt in his favour that he was mistaken, as he claimed, he
is entitled, under South African law, to an acquittal on the charge of
murder. The court then considered whether this mistake was reasonable
– one that a reasonable person, in his circumstances, may have made.
If the court concluded that this was an unreasonable mistake, it would
convict him of Culpable homicide (all other requirements assumed).
Culpable homicide in South African criminal law is defined as the
negligent unlawful killing of another human being – roughly the
equivalent of the English and US manslaughter.
Progress of the trial
On the first and second day of the trial, a witness
testified to hearing sounds of arguing that lasted about an hour. Five
witnesses testified to what were described as a woman's screams and
gunshots on the night Steenkamp died.
On the morning of day three, the defence resumed
the cross examination of witnesses claiming to have heard a woman's
screams and gunshots. The defence sought to establish that this was in
fact Pistorius screaming for help and that the "explosive sounds"
heard was the door to the toilet being battered down. In the afternoon
the prosecution continued with testimony relating to an incident when
a shot was fired in a restaurant the year previously.
On the fourth day, Pistorius' neighbour, Johan
Stipp, a radiologist, testified that he found Pistorius praying over
Steenkamp's body when he went over to help after being woken by what
he described as the sound of gunshots and a woman screaming. Stipp
testified that the first thing he remembered Pistorius saying when he
saw him was "I shot her. I thought she was a burglar. I shot her."
Stipp also testified that the light was on in the bathroom and he saw
a figure moving as a woman screamed.
On day five the court heard testimony from a former
girlfriend of Pistorius and from a security guard at the estate where
Pistorius lived, on duty the night of the events. The court adjourned
until the following Monday 10 March 2014. The trial entered its sixth
day on 10 March. Pistorius vomited multiple times in court as the
state pathologist delivered graphic testimony about the nature of
Steenkamp's injuries.
On 24 March, the court heard testimony about messages sent on iPhones
between Pistorius and Steenkamp using WhatsApp. Ninety percent of them
were described as loving and normal, but there were several from
Steenkamp accusing Pistorius of jealousy and possessiveness. In one of
them, sent less than three weeks before her killing, Steenkamp told
Pistorius "I'm scared of you sometimes, of how you snap at me", and
described his behaviour as "nasty". The state rested their case on
Tuesday 25 March, having called 20 witnesses from an original list of
107.
On 28 March, the trial was postponed until 7 April
as one of the assessors fell ill. On 7 April, Pistorius began
testifying in his own defence at the trial. The cross examination of
Pistorius lasted for five days, and ended on 15 April. Re-examination
by defence lasted less than ten minutes, in the course of which
defence asked Pistorius to read from a Valentine card which Steenkamp
had given the athlete. Steenkamp had written: "I think today is a good
day to tell you that, I love you". Pistorius previously testified that
he opened the card on Steenkamp's birthday in August 2013.
Following further defence testimony the trial was
adjourned until 5 May.
On 5 May, Johan Stander, manager of the estate
where Pistorius lived, testified that Pistorius called at 3.18 am
saying “Please, please come to my house. I shot Reeva, I thought she
was an intruder. Please, please come quick.” He went with his daughter
and found Pistorius coming down the stairs with Steenkamp in his arms.
“He was broken, he was screaming, he was crying, he was praying, I saw
the truth that morning”, he said.
On 6 May, a married couple who lived next to
Pistorius' house testified that they both heard a man crying loudly in
a high-pitched voice and calling three times for help. Another
immediate neighbour testified that she heard a man crying, describing
the sounds as a "cry of pain". There was no hearing Wednesday 7 May,
due to the South African general election. Defence lawyer Barry Roux
indicated that he would be finished with witness testimony by Tuesday
13 May.
On 8 May, professor Christina Lundgren, an
anaesthesiologist, testified that estimates of the time Steenkamp last
ate were not reliable. The defence also called Yvette van Schalkwyk, a
social worker and probation officer assigned to Pistorius, who had
contacted the defence after reading newspaper reports suggesting
Pistorius was acting and that his emotional responses were insincere.
She said that in February 2013 she sat with him in the cells during
his bail appearance, where he vomited twice, cried eighty percent of
the time, and was in mourning and suffering emotionally, and that
Pistorius told her that he missed Steenkamp a great deal. "He loved
her. .. He couldn't think what her parents must be going through" she
said. Under cross-examination, Lundgren conceded that Pistorius had
not told her he was sorry he killed Reeva. The defence ballistics
expert and former police officer Tom Wolmarans began his testimony.
On 9 May, Wolmarans countered a suggestion from a
prosecution ballistics expert that Steenkamp cowered with her hand
over her head. "The left hand cannot have been against her head
because there were no wounds and no brain tissue on the inside of her
hand" he said.
On 12 May, forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryl Vorster
testified that Pistorius has a generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and
is a "distrusting and guarded" person hyper-vigilant about security,
and also that in a fight or flight situation he is more likely to
stand up to threatening situations than to flee, due to his
disability. The prosecution said they would bring an application for
Pistorius' mental condition to be independently assessed under article
78 of the South African Criminal Procedure Act.
On 13 May, the court heard concluding testimony
from Vorster. Judge Masipa said she would rule the following day on
the prosecution application to have Pistorius' mental condition
evaluated. On 14 May, Judge Masipa granted the prosecution's
application for Pistorius to be referred for mental evaluation.
On 20 May, Judge Masipa ordered evaluation to take
place as an out-patient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria
weekdays between 9 am and 4 pm, starting 26 May and lasting up to
thirty days. The evaluation found that Pistorius was not mentally
incapacitated to the extent where he could not tell right from wrong,
though it did say that he currently suffers from anxiety and
post-traumatic stress disorder, and would need continuing psychiatric
care or he could become suicidal.
On 30 June, surgeon Gerald Versfeld, who amputated
Pistorius' lower legs when he was 11 months old, testified about the
effects of Pistorius walking or standing on his stumps. Acoustic
engineer Ivan Lin testified that tests suggested that if Steenkamp was
screaming in Pistorius’ toilet, it was “very unlikely” that the
screams would be audible or intelligible from 177 metres (581 ft)
away, and that “although we can typically distinguish male and female
screams, you cannot do so reliably, without exception”. Masipa also
issued an order that police officers depose affidavits about a missing
electrical extension cord.
On 1 July, Lin conceded it was possible that state
witnesses heard screams from the Pistorius house from up to 177 metres
(581 ft) away. Peet van Zyl, Pistorius's agent, testified that
Pistorius was in a "loving and caring relationship" with Reeva
Steenkamp. Van Zyl described the sprinter as "hypervigilant", and said
he rarely lost his temper.
On 2 July, defence lawyer Roux read excerpts from a
psychologist's report, which stated "Mr Pistorius has been severely
traumatised by the events that took place on 14 February 2013, He
currently suffers from a post-traumatic stress disorder, and a major
depressive disorder ... The degree of anxiety and depression that is
present is significant. He is also mourning the loss of Ms Steenkamp.
Mr Pistorius is being treated and should continue to receive clinical
care by a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist for his current
condition. Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition
is likely to worsen and increase the risk for suicide." The report did
not confirm a diagnosis of "Generalised Anxiety Disorder" by a witness
called by the defence, ""No evidence could be found to indicate that
Mr Pistorius suffered from anxiety to the extent that it impaired his
functioning prior to the incident in February 2013.".
The report found some jealousy but no evidence of
abuse by Pistorius: "There is evidence to indicate that Mr Pistorius
was genuine with his feelings towards Miss Steenkamp and that they had
a normal loving relationship. He did become insecure and jealous at
times but this was normal for the specific situation. He would express
his displeasure and irritation but would try and sort it out later by
talking with Miss Steenkamp. Although the relationship was still
young, there were no signs of abusive coercion like those often found
in these kinds of relationships." Wayne Derman, professor of sport and
exercise medicine at the University of Cape Town, testified that
Pistorius was "hyper-vigilant" and restless.
On 3 July, under cross-examination, Derman
testified "You've got a paradox of an individual who is supremely
able, and you've got an individual who is significantly disabled".
Derman, who had treated Pistorius over six years while working with
South African Olympic and Paralympic teams, said Pistorius' anxieties
included concern about flying. "He has a specific fear of being
trapped somewhere without being able to move very rapidly." and that
on the night he killed Steenkamp,"fleeing was not an option" as
Pistorius was not wearing his artificial legs. Prosecutor Nel
suggested Derman could not give evidence against his patient. "The
truth would come before my patient," Derman responded.
On 8 July, the defence closed its case. Defence
lawyer Barry Roux protested "We were unable to call a number of
witnesses because they refused, and didn't want their voices heard all
over the world."
Closing arguments were heard on 7 and 8 August,
with prosecutor Nel stating that Pistorius concocted a "snowball of
lies", demanding that Pistorius face consequences for his actions and
in response defence lawyer Barry Roux stated that the timeline proves
that Pistorius' story is true, compared Pistorius' reaction to danger
as being like that of an an abused woman, and that Pistorius should
only ever have faced culpable homicide charges, not murder.
Judge Masipa adjourned the trial until 11 September
for the delivery of the verdict.
Verdict
The court's verdict, which was arrived at
unanimously by the judge and her two assessors, was delivered by Judge
Masipa over two days, with the formal verdict delivered on 12
September 2014.
On 11 September Judge Masipa dismissed much of the
state's circumstantial evidence, while also describing Pistorius as a
"very poor witness". Judge Masipa said the state had not proved beyond
a reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder
and also ruled out dolus eventualis, i.e. common murder, accepting
that "he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility, that he
would kill the person behind the door, let alone the deceased as he
thought she was in the bedroom". However, Judge Masipa said culpable
homicide was a competent verdict, i.e. a lesser offence that is a
possible alternative verdict. She said a reasonable person in the same
circumstances would have "foreseen the possibility that if he fired
four shots whoever was behind the toilet [door] might be struck and
die as a result". She said Pistorius "failed to take any steps to
avoid the death", "acted too hastily and used excessive force" and his
actions were clearly negligent.
On 12 September Judge Masipa found Pistorius not
guilty of murder but guilty of the culpable homicide of Steenkamp and
guilty of reckless endangerment with a firearm at a restaurant in a
separate incident. He was found not guilty of the charges relating to
discharging a firearm through the sunroof of a car and illegal
possession of ammunition.
Pistorius was convicted of the following specific
criminal offences:
1.Culpable homicide, defined as "the unlawful
negligent killing of a human being"
2.Contravention of section 120(3)(b) of the
Firearms Control Act, 2000 (reckless endangerment), namely to
"discharge or otherwise handle a firearm, an antique firearm or an
airgun in a manner likely to injure or endanger the safety or property
of any person or with reckless disregard for the safety or property of
any person"
Judge Masipa adjourned the trial until 13 October
for sentencing and granted Pistorius a bail extension.
Reactions
According to media monitoring company ROi Africa,
the majority of social media comments during the delivery of the
verdict were critical of Judge Masipa after it became evident that
Pistorius would not be found guilty of murder. Judge Masipa, who was
given police protection from the beginning of the trial, was subjected
to threats and personal attacks by people who disagreed with the
verdict.
Sentencing
The sentencing hearing began on 13 October 2014.
Witnesses for the defence recommended a 3 year community sentence with
16 hours of community service per month. State witness Zach Modise,
acting national commissioner of Correctional Services, testified that
being disabled Pistorius would be held in Pretoria Central Prison's
hospital wing if he receives a prison sentence.
In a statement released on 15 October, Steenkamp's
parents said they would not testify in the sentencing hearing and that
they had decided not to proceed with a separate civil lawsuit.
Steenkamp's cousin Kim Martin testified for the state about the impact
on the family and asked the court to impose a prison sentence. Closing
arguments were heard on 17 October, when the defence argued against a
prison sentence and the state requested a minimum prison sentence of
10 years.
On 21 October 2014, Pistorius received a prison
sentence of a maximum of five years for culpable homicide and a
concurrent three year suspended prison sentence for the separate
reckless endangerment conviction.
Notable media coverage
Print media
Time published a cover story titled "Pistorius and
South Africa's culture of violence" in the 11 March 2013 issue of the
magazine. The magazine cover contains text superimposed on an image of
a barechested Pistorius with his running blades on, portraying his
progression from man to superman to gunman. Journalism professor at
City University London Roy Greenslade described the cover image as
"one of those striking cover images that bears all the hallmarks of
being one that will live on for years to come". The Sowetan listed the
cover appearance date as one of the "key dates in his journey from
internationally renowned athlete to a man on trial for murder".
Vanity Fair published a feature story about the
incident titled "The Shooting Star and The Model" in the Crime section
of their June 2013 issue.
Pieces of the Puzzle: Oscar Pistorius and Reeva
Steenkamp Part One: The Killing by Laurianne Claase was published in
2013, initially as an e-book and subsequently in print. Claase plans
to publish a book sequel after the trial has ended.
On 4 March 2014, The Guardian published an article
by South African crime novelist Margie Orford, "Oscar Pistorius trial:
the imaginary black stranger at heart of the defence", describing how
the case "taps into a painful narrative in which race, sex, power and
violence converge".
In his Business Day column published on 13 March
2014, Caxton Professor of Journalism at Wits University Anton Harber
states that the trial represents a turning point for local newspapers
unable to compete with "the speed and conversational nature of
electronic media". He also notes that the fact that the presiding
judge has "her finger on the off button for live broadcast" is
restraining the behaviour of the media.
Several cartoons about the case by award-winning
South African cartoonist Zapiro have been published. A cartoon titled
"St. Valentine's Day Shocker" published in the Mail & Guardian on 14
February 2013 depicts two scenarios, one portraying the culpable
homicide version of events based on mistaken identity and the other
portraying Pistorius as an Oscar winning actor. A cartoon titled "Reeva
Steenkamp as Lady Justice in Oscar Pistorius Trial" published in the
The Times on 4 March 2014 depicts Steenkamp as Lady Justice running
after Pistorius. A cartoon titled "Legal Reasoning Behind Oscar
Pistorius Verdict" published in the The Times on 16 September 2014
depicts the ensuing public debate about the legal technicalities of
the verdict.
A controversial Paddy Power advertisement captioned
"money back if he walks" was published in British tabloid The Sun on 2
March 2014 as a publicity stunt. The UK Advertising Standards
Authority found that Paddy Power breached the CAP Code and brought the
advertising industry into disrepute after receiving a record number of
5,525 complaints that the advertisement made light of a murder trial,
the death of a woman, domestic violence and disability.
On 12 September 2014 The New York Times compared
the South African public's interest in the trial to that of Americans
in the O. J. Simpson murder trial, reflecting "South Africa's
complicated obsession with race, crime and celebrity".
Radio, television, and film
On 11 March 2013, BBC Three aired an hour long
documentary about the incident titled Oscar Pistorius: What Really
Happened? Discovery Networks International acquired the broadcasting
rights to the programme, which will be titled Blade Runner: The Untold
Story in the United States.
On 3 June 2013, Channel 5 aired two consecutive
hour-long documentaries titled Why Did Oscar Pistorius Kill Our
Daughter? and Pistorius Trial: The Key Questions.
In February 2014 eNCA aired a half-hour documentary
special about Steenkamp's life titled Reeva: The Model You Thought You
Knew.
An hour long documentary titled Oscar Pistorius:
Burden of Truth was aired during M-Net's Carte Blanche programme on 16
February 2014 and subsequently on the Crime & Investigation Network.
On 29 January 2014, it was announced that South
African satellite pay-channel DStv would launch a dedicated 24-hour
channel providing in-depth coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial on 2
March 2014. It was DStv's first pop-up channel covering a major news
story.
ESPN, a TV channel focussing on sports-related
programming, is covering the trial on their ESPN3 network.
On 16 June 2014, 48 Hours aired an hour-long
documentary titled Oscar Pistorius: Shots in the Dark.
On 6 July 2014, Australia's Seven Network dedicated
an hour-long episode of Sunday Night to a story titled Running Scared
which was their own investigation into the likelihood of Pistorius'
guilt. The story included Pistorius' own reenactments as well as audio
recordings and animations of the scene, and gave much heavier weight
to claims of his innocence. The following day, many in South Africa,
including Pistorius' family and legal team, slammed the broadcast,
saying the reenactment footage had been illegally obtained. They
claimed the footage was created solely for trial preparation and that
the US company engaged to create it had breached contract by selling
it to Seven Network. Seven Network refused to apologise, stating that
they stood by their decision to air the story and denying any
involvement in illegal procurement of the footage. They reminded the
public that Steenkamp's family participated in the creation of the
story, citing their interviews that went to air.
On 15 September 2014, BBC Three broadcast Oscar
Pistorius: The Truth, a documentary produced by NBC News subsidiary
Peacock Productions, including extensive interviews with Barry and
June Steenkamp.
Social media
On 22 February 2013, technology news site, Memeburn
analyzed Pistorius's bail hearing as it transpired on social media.
The Pistorius trial saw many South African
journalists gain social media prominence as they reported from the
courtroom. Writing for Memeburn, Lauren Granger explored the rise of
Barry Bateman as the go to source for all things Pistorius and the
Twitter explosion.
On 14 February 2014, South African comedian Trevor
Noah posted on Twitter: "And the Oscar goes to – Jail". Noah received
criticism from his followers and other South Africans. People who
responded to this post include Top Billing presenter Janez Vermeiren,
who responded: "@Trevornoah c'mon you are more than talented and have
enough followers, you don't need to seek attention like this!"
On 23 February 2014, Pistorius's PR team launched a
Twitter account called Factual Updates which operates under the
Twitter handle @OscarHardTruth in order to provide new information
regarding the case as the trial unfolds. On 17 March 2014, Pistorius's
media manager Anneliese Burgess released a statement saying the
account would only be used to alert followers of media statements and
articles and would be used as a stand-alone communication trial once
the trial had concluded.
Writing in her Daily Maverick column published on 4
March 2014, Sisonke Msimang finds vibrancy and emerging
self-confidence reflected in the local social media coverage of the
trial. While the trial inevitably represents a fall from grace
prompting international media accounts of a country 'at war with
itself', South Africans are learning that such accounts are better
told by themselves.
On 14 April 2014, former Sunday Times columnist,
Jani Allan published an open letter to Pistorius on her blog. The
piece was republished by the Daily Maverick the following day. Allan
described Pistorius as a "faux hero" and compared him to Eugene
Terre'Blanche. She also suggested that he had taken acting lessons in
preparation for his court appearance. A spokesperson for the Pistorius
family has denied this; "We deny in the strongest terms the contents
of her letter in as far it relates to our client and further deny that
our client has undergone any acting lessons or any form of emotional
coaching."
Wikipedia.org
In full: Pistorius' affidavit to court
CNN.com
February 21, 2013
Pretoria (CNN) -- Oscar Pistorius' attorney read
out the track star's affidavit to the judge in the Pretoria courtroom
during the bail hearing Tuesday. The athlete was too distraught to
read out the statement himself.
The affidavit reads as follows:
I, the undersigned, Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius,
do hereby make oath and state:
I am an adult male and a South African citizen with
identity number [identity number redacted].
I am the Applicant in this application in which I
seek relief from this Honourable Court to be released on bail. I
respectfully submit, as I will demonstrate herein, that the interests
of justice permit my release on bail. In any event, the dictates of
fairness and justice in view of the peculiar facts herein warrant that
I should not be deprived of my liberty and that I should be released
on bail.
I make this affidavit of my own free will and have
not in any way been unduly influenced to depose thereto.
The facts herein contained, save where expressly
indicated to the contrary, are within my personal knowledge and
belief, and are both true and correct.
The purpose of this affidavit is to provide the
above Honourable Court with my personal circumstances and to address
the allegations levelled against me (in so far as they are known to
me), as well as to address the factors to be considered by the above
Honourable Court as contained in Sections 60(4) to 60(9) of the Act.
I have been advised and I understand that I bear
the burden to show that the interests of justice permit my release and
that I am obliged to initiate this application. I fail to understand
how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder, as
I had no intention to kill my girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp ("Reeva").
However, I will put factors before the Honourable Court to show that
it is in the interests of justice to permit my release on bail.
I state that the State will not be able to present
any objective facts that I committed a planned or premeditated murder.
For this reason I will hereunder deal with the events which occurred
that evening. The objective facts will not refute my version as it is
the truth.
I am a professional athlete and reside at [address
redacted].
I was born on 22 November 1986, at Johannesburg. I
have resided in the Republic of South Africa ("the RSA") all my life,
and although I frequently travel abroad to participate in
international sporting events, I regard South Africa as my permanent
place of abode. I have no intention to relocate to any other country
as I love my country.
I own immovable assets in South Africa, which
consist of the following:
The immovable property in which I currently reside,
at [address redacted] ("the residential premises"). This property is
valued at approximately R5 million and is encumbered by a mortgage
bond in the amount of approximately R2 million.
Two further immovable properties located within
Weeping Willow Estates, Pretoria East, which properties have a
combined value of approximately R1,6 million. Both properties are
bonded to an aggregate value of approximately R1 million.
A vacant stand in Langebaan, Western Cape, which
has a value of approximately R1,7 million. This property is not
bonded.
I own movable assets comprised of household
furniture and effects, motor vehicles and jewellery, which are valued
in excess of R500 000,00.
My friends and family reside in the RSA, although I
also have friends abroad.
My professional occupation currently provides me
with an income of approximately R5,6 million per annum.
I have cash investments in excess of R1 million at
various banks within the RSA.
I have never been convicted of any criminal
offences either in the RSA or elsewhere. There are no outstanding
cases, other than the present, being investigated against me by the
South African Police Services ("SAPS").
My legal representatives have explained the
provisions of Section 60(11) of the Act to me. I respectfully make the
following submissions in this regard:
I have been informed that I am accused of having
committed the offence of murder. I deny the aforesaid allegation in
the strongest terms.
I am advised that I do not have to deal with the
merits of the case for purposes of the bail application. However, I
believe that it is appropriate to deal with the merits in this
application, particularly in view of the State's contention that I
planned to murder Reeva. Nothing can be further from the truth and I
have no doubt that it is not possible for the State to present
objective facts to substantiate such an allegation, as there is no
substance in the allegation. I do not know on what different facts the
allegation of a premeditated murder could be premised and I
respectfully request the State to furnish me with such alleged facts
in order to allow me to refute such allegations.
On the 13th of February 2013 Reeva would have gone
out with her friends and I with my friends. Reeva then called me and
asked that we rather spend the evening at home. I agreed and we were
content to have a quiet dinner together at home. By about 22h00 on 13
February 2013 we were in our bedroom. She was doing her yoga exercises
and I was in bed watching television. My prosthetic legs were off. We
were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the
same way. She had given me a present for Valentine's Day but asked me
only to open it the next day.
After Reeva finished her yoga exercises she got
into bed and we both fell asleep.
I am acutely aware of violent crime being committed
by intruders entering homes with a view to commit crime, including
violent crime. I have received death threats before. I have also been
a victim of violence and of burglaries before. For that reason I kept
my firearm, a 9 mm Parabellum, underneath my bed when I went to bed at
night.
During the early morning hours of 14 February 2013,
I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and closed the
sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains. I heard a noise in the
bathroom and realised that someone was in the bathroom.
I felt a sense of terror rushing over me. There are
no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew that contractors
who worked at my house had left the ladders outside. Although I did
not have my prosthetic legs on I have mobility on my stumps.
I believed that someone had entered my house. I was
too scared to switch a light on.
I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed. On
my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to
get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch
dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed.
I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I
realised that the intruder/s was/were in the toilet because the toilet
door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard
movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has
a separate door.
It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or
intruders being inside the toilet. I thought he or they must have
entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my
prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to
protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruder/s came out
of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my
bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.
I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to
Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards
out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance.
Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to
switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.
When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was
not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva
who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I
tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into
the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and
screamed for help.
I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the
bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open. I think I must then
have turned on the lights. I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my
cricket bat to bash open the toilet door. A panel or panels broke off
and I found the key on the floor and unlocked and opened the door.
Reeva was slumped over but alive.
I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled
her into the bathroom. I phoned Johan Stander ("Stander") who was
involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone
the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help. I went downstairs
to open the front door.
I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I
had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to
hospital. I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the
hospital. On my way down Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the
complex also arrived. Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to
Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms.
I am absolutely mortified by the events and the
devastating loss of my beloved Reeva. With the benefit of hindsight I
believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out on the balcony
to bring the fan in. I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have
caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved. I also know
that the events of that tragic night were as I have described them and
that in due course I have no doubt the police and expert investigators
will bear this out.
I will stand my trial should it proceed against me.
I am a well-known international athlete and there is no possibility
that I will even think of not standing my trial should there be one. I
trust the South African legal system and that the facts will show that
I did not murder Reeva.
In order to persuade the above Honourable Court
that I should be released on bail, I provide the following additional
facts and information in terms of Section 60 of the Act.
I do not know the identity of any witness upon whom
the State will rely in order to attempt to prove a case against me. In
any event, I have no intention to interfere with any witnesses as I
have no cause to do so and I undertake not to do so.
I maintain good relationships with people and I
bear no grudges against anyone.
As previously stated, I have no previous
convictions and I have not been released on bail pending any charges.
I am not disposed to violence.
I respectfully submit that the facts set out above
support my contention that I do not constitute a flight risk.
I have two South African passports, the one is
full. I need my passport to compete overseas but I am willing to
surrender the passports to the investigating officer should it be a
condition of bail. I am not in possession of any other travel
documents and undertake not to apply for such documentation pending
the finalisation of these proceedings.
After the shooting I did not attempt to flee.
Rather, I accepted Stander would contact the police, and I remained at
the scene.
I will be able to raise an appropriate amount to
post as bail.
I have no knowledge of any evidentiary material
which may exist with regard to the allegations levelled against me. In
any event, I believe that whatever such evidence may be, it is in the
possession of the police; it is safely secured and I do not have
access thereto. I undertake not to interfere with any further
investigations.
I am not sure which witnesses the State will rely
upon in order to attempt to prove its case against me. Nonetheless, I
undertake not to communicate with any witness, whoever he or she may
be, and any other persons whose names may appear on a list of "State
witnesses", to be provided by the State.
My continued incarceration can only prejudice me
and creates no benefit to the State.
I respectfully submit that should I be released on
bail, my release shall not disturb the public order or undermine the
proper functioning of the criminal justice system.
I will comply with such conditions as the above
Honourable Court may wish to impose.
I accordingly submit that the interests of justice,
considerations of prejudice and the balancing of respective interests
favour my release on bail.
Why wasn't Oscar Pistorius convicted of murder?
After a six-month trial, Oscar Pistorius is cleared
of murder but convicted of culpable homicide
Theweek.co.uk
September 12, 2014
Oscar Pistorius was today convicted of culpable
homicide by Judge Thokozile Masipa after being cleared of murdering
Reeva Steenkamp.
The prosecution accused Pistorius of premeditated
murder, claiming he had deliberately shot his girlfriend Steenkamp
after an argument on Valentine's Day last year.
However, Judge Masipa told the court that the state
had failed to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that Pistorius is guilty
of premeditated murder. "There are just not enough facts to support
such a finding," she said.
Masipa said the evidence the state offered on the
charge was "purely circumstantial".
Based on the objective facts, such as phone
records, she accepted the defence's timeline of events that the shots
were fired at around 3.12am. This meant that some of the state
witnesses who claimed they heard a woman screaming after the time
Steenkamp was shot must have been "genuinely mistaken", she said.
The judge also said that the WhatsApp messages
between Pistorius and Steenkamp did not "prove anything" and the
evidence suggesting Steenkamp had eaten two hours before she died was
"inconclusive".
Masipa then turned to the lesser charge of murder.
She said there was "no doubt" that when Pistorius fired shots at the
door he "acted unlawfully".
However, she said that the evidence does not
support the state's case that this was "murder dolus eventualis", a
legal term for when the perpetrator foresees the possibility of his
action causing death and persists regardless.
Masipa accepted that Pistorius believed Steenkamp
was in the bedroom, noting that this part of his account had remained
consistent since the moments after the shooting. It is "highly
improbable the accused would have made this up so quickly", she said.
She described Pistorius as a "very poor" and
"evasive" witness, but said it did not mean he was necessarily guilty.
"Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he
would kill the person behind the door – let alone the deceased – as he
thought she was in the bedroom," she said.
Yesterday, some legal experts suggested that the
state might be able to appeal the murder ruling. Masipa explained why
Pistorius did not foresee that he would kill Steenkamp, but did not
"explain convincingly" why she believed he did not foresee that he
would have killed the perceived intruder, says Pierre De Vos, who
teaches constitutional law at the University of Cape Town.
Writing in South Africa's Daily Maverick, De Vos
says: "Given all the evidence presented in court about Pistorius's
knowledge of guns and what the bullets he used would do to a person,
it is unlikely in the extreme that Pistorius did not foresee that the
person behind the door (who he might have thought was an intruder)
would be killed."
Today, Masipa offered a legal explanation as to why
she could only convict Pistorius on culpable homicide rather than
murder. A "reasonable" person with Pistorius's disabilities would have
foreseen that shooting into the door may have killed the person
inside, she said. However, South African law warns against
automatically assuming that because a perpetrator "should have"
foreseen the consequences of his actions that he actually did.
She pointed to JM Burchell's General Principles of
Criminal Law, which states that "the courts have warned against any
tendency to draw the inference of objective foresight too easily".
Following previous cases, the courts have been told to "guard against
proceeding too readily from 'ought to have foreseen' to 'must have
foreseen'".
The onus was on the state to prove beyond
reasonable doubt that Pistorius foresaw the fatal consequences of his
actions when he shot at the door. Masipa said the prosecution failed
to do so.
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (born 22
November 1986) is a South African sprint runner. Although both of
Pistorius' legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months
old, he competes in events for single below-knee amputees and for
able-bodied athletes.
After becoming a Paralympics champion, Pistorius
attempted to enter able-bodied international competition, over
persistent objections of the IAAF and charges that his artificial
limbs gave an unfair advantage. Pistorius eventually prevailed in this
legal dispute. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius
became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. At
the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double leg
amputee to participate in the Olympics when he entered the men's 400
metres and 4 × 400 metres relay races. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics,
Pistorius won gold medals in the men's 400-metre race and in the 4 ×
100 metres relay, setting world records in both events. He also took
silver in the 200-metre race, having set a world record in the
semifinal.
In February 2013, Pistorius fatally shot his
girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria home. He claimed he'd
mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder, but he was arrested and charged
with murder. At his trial in 2014 he was found not guilty of murder,
but guilty of culpable homicide. In October 2014, Pistorius received a
five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide (and a concurrent
three year suspended prison sentence for a separate reckless
endangerment conviction).
Early life
Oscar Pistorius was born to Henke and Sheila
Pistorius on 22 November 1986 in Sandton, Johannesburg, in what was
then Transvaal Province (now Gauteng Province) of South Africa. He
grew up in a Christian home, and has an elder brother, Carl, and a
younger sister, Aimée. Pistorius credits his mother, who died at the
age of 43 when Pistorius was 15 years old, as a major influence in his
life. He is a white South African with Italian ancestry from his
mother's grandfather, an Italian emigrant to Kenya. He is
English-speaking.
Pistorius was born with fibular hemimelia
(congenital absence of the fibula) in both legs. When he was 11 months
old, his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles. He
attended Constantia Kloof Primary School and Pretoria Boys High
School, where he played rugby union in the school's third XV team. He
played water polo and tennis at provincial level between the ages of
11 and 13. In addition, Pistorius took part in club Olympic wrestling,
and trained at Jannie Brooks's garage gym in Pretoria, South Africa.
After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, he
was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing
rehabilitation at the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre
with coach Ampie Louw, and "never looked back". His first racing
blades were fitted by South African prosthetist Francois van der Watt.
Because he was unable to find suitable running blades in Pretoria, van
der Watt ordered some to be made by a local engineer. However, as
these quickly broke, van der Watt referred Pistorius to American
prosthetist and Paralympic sprinter Brian Frasure to be fitted for
blades by Icelandic company Össur.
Pistorius began studying for a Bachelor of Commerce
(B.Com.) in business management with sports science at the University
of Pretoria in 2006. In a June 2008 interview for his University's
website, he joked: "I won't graduate soon. With all the training I
have had to cut down on my subjects. Hopefully I'll finish by the time
I'm 30!" Asked by a journalist for his "sporting motto", he said:
"You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the
abilities you have."
Sporting career
Pistorius competes in T44 (single below-knee
amputees) events though he is actually classified in T43 (double below
knee amputee). Sometimes referred to as the "Blade Runner" and "the
fastest man on no legs", Pistorius took part in the 2004 Summer
Paralympics in Athens and came third overall in the T44 (one leg
amputated below the knee) 100-metre event. Despite falling in the
preliminary round for the 200 metres, he qualified for the final. He
went on to win the final in a world record time of 21.97 seconds,
besting a pair of American runners both possessing a single
amputation, Marlon Shirley and Brian Frasure.
In 2005, Pistorius finished sixth in the
able-bodied South African Championships over 400 metres with a
world-record time of 47.34 seconds, and at the Paralympic World Cup in
the same year, he won gold in the 100 metres and 200 metres, beating
his previous 200-metre world record.
At the 2006 Paralympic Athletics World
Championships, Pistorius won gold in the 100-, 200- and 400-metre
events, breaking the world record over 200 metres. On 17 March 2007,
he set a disability sports world record for the 400 metres (46.56
seconds) at the South African Senior Athletics Championships in
Durban; and at the Nedbank Championships for the Physically Disabled
held in Johannesburg in April 2007, he became the world record holder
of the 100- and 200-metre events with times of 10.91 and 21.58 seconds
respectively.
Pistorius was invited by the IAAF to take part in
what would have been his first international able-bodied event, the
400-metre race at the IAAF Grand Prix in Helsinki, Finland, in July
2005. He was unable to attend, however, because of school commitments.
On 13 July 2007, Pistorius ran in the 400-metre
race at Rome's Golden Gala and finished second in run B with a time of
46.90 seconds, behind Stefano Braciola who ran 46.72 seconds. This was
a warm-up for his appearance at the 400 metres at the Norwich Union
British Grand Prix at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield on 15 July
2007. As American Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner stumbled at the
start of the race and stopped running, Pistorius took seventh place in
a field of eight in wet conditions with a time of 47.65 seconds.
However, he was later disqualified for running outside his lane. The
race was won by American Angelo Taylor with a time of 45.25 seconds.
Pistorius had ambitions of competing in other able-bodied events. In
particular, he had set his sights on competing at the 2008 Summer
Olympics in Beijing, China, but was ultimately not selected by the
South African Olympic Committee.
Dispute over prosthetics
Pistorius has been the subject of criticism because
of claims that his artificial limbs give him an advantage over runners
with natural ankles and feet. He runs with J-shaped carbon-fibre
prosthetics called the "Flex-Foot Cheetah" developed by biomedical
engineer Van Phillips and manufactured by Össur.
On 26 March 2007, the IAAF amended its competition
rules to include a ban on the use of "any technical device that
incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user
with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device". It
claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius. To
decide whether he was running with an unfair advantage, the IAAF
monitored his track performances using high-definition cameras to film
his race against Italian club runners in Rome on 13 July, and his 400
metres in Sheffield on 15 July 2007, at which he placed last.
In November 2007, Pistorius was invited to take
part in a series of scientific tests at the Cologne Sports University
under the guidance of Professor of Biomechanics Dr. Peter Brüggemann
in conjunction with Mr. Elio Locatelli, who was responsible with the
IAAF of all technical issues. After two days of tests, Brüggemann
reported on his findings on behalf of the IAAF. The report claimed
that Pistorius's limbs used 25% less energy than runners with complete
natural legs to run at the same speed, and that they led to less
vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the
body.
In December, Brüggemann told Die Welt newspaper
that Pistorius "has considerable advantages over athletes without
prosthetic limbs who were tested by us. It was more than just a few
percentage points. I did not expect it to be so clear."
Based on these findings, on 14 January 2008, the
IAAF ruled Pistorius's prostheses ineligible for use in competitions
conducted under the IAAF rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Pistorius called the decision "premature and highly subjective" and
pledged to continue fighting for his dream. His manager Peet van Zyl
said his appeal would be based on advice from United States experts
who had said that the report "did not take enough variables into
consideration".
Pistorius subsequently appealed against the adverse
decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne,
Switzerland, and appeared before the tribunal at the end of April
2008.[52] After a two-day hearing, on 16 May 2008, the Court of
Arbitration for Sport upheld Pistorius's appeal and the IAAF council
decision was revoked with immediate effect.
The CAS panel unanimously determined that Dr.
Brüggemann tested Pistorius's biomechanics only at full-speed when he
was running in a straight line (unlike a real 400-metre race); that
the report did not consider the disadvantages that Pistorius suffers
at the start and acceleration phases of the race; and that overall
there was no evidence that he had any net advantage over able-bodied
athletes.
In response to the announcement, Pistorius said:
"My focus throughout this appeal has been to ensure that disabled
athletes be given the chance to compete and compete fairly with
able-bodied athletes. I look forward to continuing my quest to qualify
for the Olympics."
Attempts to qualify for 2008 Summer Olympics
To have a chance of representing South Africa at
the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the individual 400-metre race,
Pistorius had to attain the Olympic "A" standard time of 45.55
seconds; the "B" qualifying time of 45.95 seconds if no other athlete
from his country achieved the faster time did not apply. Each national
athletics federation is permitted to enter three athletes in an event
if the "A" standard is met, and only one athlete if the "B" standard
is met. However, he was eligible for selection as a member of the
relay squad without qualifying. His best chance was to try for a
time of close to 46 seconds to make the 4 × 400-metre relay team.
However, he said: "If I make the team I don't want to be the reserve
for the relay, I want to be in the top four. I want to bring something
to the race and make the relay stronger." To give him a chance of
making the South African Olympic team, selectors delayed naming the
team until 17 July.
On 2 July 2008, Pistorius competed in the 400
metres in the B race of the Notturna International in Milan but was
"disappointed" when he failed to achieve the minimum Olympic
qualification time, completing the race in fourth place in 47.78
seconds.
His performance on 11 July 2008 at the Rome Golden
Gala was an improvement of more than a second, though his sixth-place
time of 46.62 seconds in the B race was still short of the Olympic
qualification time. Nonetheless, he was pleased with his performance,
commenting that he felt he could improve on it.
On 15 July 2008, IAAF general secretary Pierre
Weiss commented that the world athletics body preferred that the South
African Olympic Committee not select Pistorius for its 4 × 400 metres
relay team "for reasons of safety", saying that Pistorius
could cause "serious damage" and risk the physical safety of himself
and other athletes if he ran in the main pack of the relay.
Pistorius
branded this as the IAAF's "last desperate attempt" to get him not to
qualify, and threatened legal action if the Federation did not confirm
that it had no objections to his participation in the relay. The IAAF responded by issuing a statement saying that
Pistorius was welcome to seek qualification for the Olympics and
future competitions under IAAF rules: "The IAAF fully respects the
recent CAS decision regarding the eligibility of Oscar Pistorius to
compete in IAAF competitions, and certainly has no wish to influence
the South African Olympic Committee, who has full authority to select
a men's 4x400m relay team for the Beijing Olympics."
Coming third with a personal best time of 46.25
seconds at the Spitzen Leichtathletik meeting in Lucerne on 16 July
2008, Pistorius failed to qualify for the 400 metres at the 2008
Summer Olympics by 0.70 seconds. Athletics South Africa later
announced that he would also not be selected for the 4 × 400 metres
relay team as four other runners had better times. Had Pistorius been
selected, he would have been one of the first
competitors with a leg amputation to participate in the Olympic Games. Pistorius's compatriot Natalie du Toit,
a swimmer whose left leg was amputated above the knee after a traffic
accident, duly became the first athlete with an amputation to qualify
for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Asked about the possibility of the IAAF offering him a
wild card to take part in the Olympics, Pistorius responded: "I do not
believe that I would accept. If I have to take part in the Beijing
Games I should do it because I qualified." He expressed a preference
for focusing on qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, stating that it was a more realistic target as "[s]printers
usually reach their peak between 26 and 29. I will be 25 in London and
I'll also have two, three years' preparation."
2008 Summer Paralympics
Pistorius participated in the 2008 Summer
Paralympics in Beijing in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (T44). On 9
September, in the heats of the 100 metres, he set a Paralympic record
with his time of 11.16 seconds. Later, following a slow start, he
rallied to snatch gold from the United States' Jerome Singleton in the
100 metres in a time of 11.17 seconds, 0.03 seconds ahead of the
silver medallist.
Four days later, on 13 September, the defending Paralympic
champion in the 200-metre sprint won his second gold in the event in a
time of 21.67 seconds, setting another Paralympic record. He completed a hat-trick by winning gold in the 400 metres
in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds on 16 September, calling
it "a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life".
2011 and qualification for 2012 Summer Olympics
In January 2011, a slimmer, trimmer Pistorius won
three IPC Athletics World titles in New Zealand but was beaten for the
first time in seven years in the 100 metres by American Jerome
Singleton. He subsequently won the T44 400 metres in 47.28 seconds
and the 100 metres in 11.04 seconds at the BT Paralympic World Cup in
May to reassert himself as the world's leading Paralympic sprinter.
Pistorius competed across a number of able-bodied
races in the summer of 2011 and posted three times under 46 seconds,
but it was at the 19th Internazionale di Atletica Sports Solidarity
Meeting in Lignano, Italy, on 19 July that he set a personal best of
45.07 seconds in the 400 metres, attaining the World Championships and
Olympic Games "A" standard qualification mark. Pistorius
won the 400&-metres event with a posted time that ranked him as 15th
fastest in the world.
On 8 August 2011 it was announced that he had been
included in the South African team for the World Championships in
Daegu, South Korea, and had been selected for the 400-metre and the 4
× 400 metre relay squad. In the heats of the 400 metres, Pistorius ran
in 45.39 seconds and qualified for the semifinal. However, in the
semifinal, he ran 46.19 seconds and was eliminated.
In the heats of the 4 × 400 metres relay, Pistorius
ran the opening leg as South Africa advanced to the finals with a
national record time of 2 minutes 59.21 seconds. However, he was not
selected to run in the finals based on having the slowest split time
of 46.20. This caused a controversy, as the first leg is normally
Pistorius's slowest since it requires a start from blocks, and he was
restricted to the first leg by Athletics South Africa "on safety
grounds". He initially tweeted "Haven't been included in final. Pretty
gutted.", but later added "Well done to the SA 4×400m team. Was really
hard watching, knowing I deserved to be part of it." Pistorius still
won the silver medal because he ran in the heats, becoming the first
amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal.
Reflecting on his World Championship debut, Pistorius said: "I really
enjoyed the whole experience. I ran my second fastest time ever in the
heats and was really pleased to have reached the semifinals. In the
relay I was unbelievably chuffed to have broken the South African
record, and hopefully my name will stay on that for a long time to
come."
On 4 July 2012, the South African Sports
Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) announced that Pistorius
had been included in the Olympic team for the 400-metre and the 4
× 400 metres relay races.
2012 Summer Olympics
At the 2012 Summer Olympics on 4 August 2012,
Pistorius became the first amputee runner to compete at an Olympic
Games. In the 400 metres race, he took second place in the first heat
of five runners, finishing with a time of 45.44 seconds (his best time
of the season so far) to advance to the semifinals on 5 August. He ran in the second semifinal, where he finished eighth
and last with a time of 46.54 seconds.
In the first semifinal of the 4 × 400 metres relay
race on 9 August, the second runner of the South African team, Ofentse
Mogawane, fell and was injured before reaching Pistorius, who was to
have run the third leg. South Africa was passed into the final on
appeal to the IAAF, due to interference by Vincent Kiilu, the Kenyan
athlete who downed Mogawane. The South African relay team eventually
finished eighth out of the field of nine in the final on 10 August.
However, it established a season's best time for the team of 3 minutes
3.46 seconds, with Pistorius running the final leg in 45.9 seconds. Pistorius was chosen to carry the South African flag for
the closing ceremony.
2012 Summer Paralympics
Pistorius also carried the flag at the opening
ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics on 29 August. He entered
the T44 classification men's 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres
races, and the T42–T46 4 × 100 metres relay.
In the 200-metre competition, Pistorius established
a new T43 world record of 21.30 seconds in his heat on 1 September,
but he was defeated in the final the next day by Alan Oliveira of
Brazil. Pistorius took silver, and then created a controversy by
complaining about the length of Oliveira's blades. He later apologised
for the timing of his remarks, but not the content of his complaint.
The IPC confirmed the length of Oliveira’s blades were
proportional to his body, with all the finalists measured before the
race. The IPC also confirmed that Pistorius had raised the issue of
blade length with it six weeks prior to the race. SASCOC issued a
statement welcoming Pistorius's apology for his outburst and declared
their full support for him and promised to assist him in discussions
with the IPC about the issue of lengthened prosthetics after the
conclusion of the Games. The IPC expressed willingness to engage with
Pistorius about the issue. Australian runner Jack Swift, USA runner
Jerome Singleton, and other athletes also expressed
support for Pistorius's position.
Pistorius won a gold medal on 5 September running
the anchor leg as part of the South African 4 × 100 metres relay team.
The team set a world record time of 41.78 seconds. He was unsuccessful
in defending his Beijing Olympics 100-metre title when he came fourth
with a season's best time of 11.17 seconds, and the race was won by
Great Britain's Jonnie Peacock. On 8 September, the
last full day of competition, Pistorius won gold in the T44 400 metres
with a time of 46.68 seconds, breaking the Paralympic record.
Other awards and accolades
In 2006, Pistorius was conferred the Order of
Ikhamanga in Bronze (OIB) by the President of South Africa for
outstanding achievement in sports. On 9 December 2007, Pistorius was awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen
Rollason Award, which is conferred for outstanding courage and
achievement in the face of adversity.
In May 2008, Pistorius made the "Time 100" – Time
magazine's annual list of the world's most influential people –
appearing third in the "Heroes & Pioneers" section. Erik Weihenmayer,
the first blind person to climb Mount Everest, wrote in an essay that
Pistorius was "on the cusp of a paradigm shift in which disability
becomes ability, disadvantage becomes advantage. Yet we mustn't lose
sight of what makes an athlete great. It's too easy to credit
Pistorius' success to technology. Through birth or circumstance, some
are given certain gifts, but it's what one does with those gifts, the
hours devoted to training, the desire to be the best, that is at the
true heart of a champion." In 2012 he made the list again.
In February 2012, Pistorius was awarded the Laureus
World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability for
2012. On 22 August 2012, he was honoured with the unveiling of a
large mural depicting his achievements in the town of Gemona, Italy.
On 9 September 2012, Pistorius was shortlisted by
the IPC for the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award as a competitor "who
is fair, honest and is uncompromising in his or her values and
prioritises the promotion of the Paralympic Movement above personal
recognition". According to director Craig Spence, he was nominated by
an unnamed external organisation from South Korea. The award went
to two other athletes.
After the 2012 Summer Paralympics, the University
of Strathclyde in Glasgow announced they would confer on Pistorius,
among others, an honorary doctorate. Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and
Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: "Each of our honorary
graduands has excelled in their chosen field, and each has touched the
lives of many others around the world. As a leading international
technological university committed to excellence, it is fitting that
we recognise their inspiring achievements and we look forward to
welcoming them to the university in November."
Sponsorship and charitable activities
Pistorius has sponsorship deals worth US$2 million
a year with Össur, BT, Nike, Oakley and Thierry Mugler. In
2011, Pistorius participated as a model in an advertising campaign for
a Thierry Mugler fragrance called A*Men.
In 2008, Pistorius collaborated in the release of a
music CD called Olympic Dream. Produced in Italy, it consists of disco
remixes of music pieces that Pistorius finds inspirational, and two
tracks written for him, "Olympic Dream" and "Run Boy Run", for which
he provided voiceovers. Part of the CD's proceeds of sale went to
charity.[126] Pistorius also actively supports the Mineseeker
Foundation, a charity that works to raise awareness for landmine
victims and has a support programme to provide prosthetics for
victims.
On 21 February 2013, after previously suspending
adverts that featured Pistorius and the line "I am the bullet in the
chamber" in the wake of his shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, sportswear
manufacturer Nike suspended its contract with Pistorius. It stated:
"We believe Oscar Pistorius should be afforded due process and we will
continue to monitor the situation closely."
Personal life
Pistorius has two visible tattoos. The dates of his
mother's birth and death ("LVIII V VIII – II III VI" – 8 May 1958
– 6 March 2002) are tattooed on the inside of his right arm. The other
tattoo, which is on his back, is the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 9:26–27
which begins, "I do not run like a man running aimlessly." He
used to own a house in South Africa which was sold in June 2014, and
used to train for the European season in Gemona del Friuli, Italy.
Aside from running, his interests include architecture, motorbiking, and breeding race horses.
Pistorius's autobiography, Dream Runner, was
published in Italian in 2008 with Gianni Merlo, a journalist with La
Gazzetta dello Sport. An English version entitled Blade Runner was
released in 2009. In 2010, Pistorius appeared on L'isola dei
famosi, an Italian version of Celebrity Survivor.
On 7 January
2012, he appeared as a special guest on the Italian version of Dancing
with the Stars called Ballando con le Stelle at Auditorium Rai in
Rome, where he danced a tango with Annalisa Longo to ABBA's "The
Winner Takes It All". On 9 October 2012, Pistorius appeared on The
Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was also scheduled to appear
on Piers Morgan Tonight and the Larry King Now show at later dates.
In February 2009, Pistorius was seriously injured
when he was thrown from a boat in an accident on the Vaal River near
Johannesburg. He was airlifted to Milpark Hospital where he underwent
surgery to repair broken facial bones including his nose and jaw.
There were initial concerns about his fitness, but he recovered fully.
However, the accident affected his training and running schedule for
that year.
Pistorius was scheduled as an amateur golfer in the
2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship held at St Andrews, Carnoustie
and Kingsbarns in Scotland. Pistorius has a 21 handicap in South
Africa, but played off an 18 handicap for the Championship. In
2010 he played in the Laureus World Sports Awards Golf Challenge at
the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and
the Help-net Fund Celebrity Charity Golf Day.
Killing of Reeva Steenkamp
In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013,
Pistorius shot and killed South African model Reeva Steenkamp, his
girlfriend of three months, at his home in Pretoria. Pistorius acknowledges that he shot Steenkamp,
causing her death, but says that he mistook her for a possible
intruder.
Pistorius' trial for murder began on 3 March 2014
in Pretoria. On 20
May 2014, the trial proceedings were adjourned until 30 June to enable Pistorius to undergo psychiatric evaluation to establish whether he
was criminally responsible for shooting Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile
Masipa agreed to a request for the evaluation by prosecutor Gerrie Nel
after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster testified for the defence
that she had diagnosed Pistorius with generalized anxiety disorder.
On 30 June 2014, the trial resumed after the
evaluation reports which said Pistorius could be held criminally
responsible. The state prosecutor was quoted as saying, "Mr Pistorius
did not suffer from a mental illness or defect that would have
rendered him criminally not responsible for the offence charged". The
defence closed its case on 8 July and closing arguments were heard on
7 and 8 August.
On 12 September, Pistorius was found not guilty of
murder, but was found guilty of culpable homicide and one
firearm-related charge, of reckless endangerment related to
discharging a firearm in a restaurant. Pistorius was found not guilty
of two firearm-related charges relating to illegal possession of
ammunition and firing a firearm through the sunroof of a car.
On 21 October 2014, Pistorius received a prison sentence of a maximum
of five years for culpable homicide and a concurrent three year
suspended prison sentence for the separate reckless endangerment
conviction.