Pistorius due in court as trial nears verdict

Johannesburg – The murder trial of fallen Olympian Oscar Pistorius resumes today for closing arguments after months of gripping testimony that captured the world’s attention.
It will be a final showdown between two of the country’s top legal minds: defence lawyer Barry Roux, and senior state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, nicknamed “Bulldog” because of his brutal style of questioning.

The hearing is set down for two days before Judge Thokozile Masipa, who is then expected to adjourn the case for a couple of weeks before delivering her verdict.

Pistorius, 27, is charged with murdering his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the night of Valentine’s Day last year.
The double amputee athlete, known as the “Blade Runner” for his prosthetic limbs, claims he mistakenly shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, believing she was an intruder in his upmarket Pretoria home.

Prosecutors argue that Pistorius deliberately killed the 29-year-old law graduate, who had been his girlfriend for three months, after an argument. If convicted on the main charge of premeditated murder, the sprinter faces a minimum of 25 years in jail.

Lawyer and legal commentator Ulrich Roux said that if Pistorious were acquitted of premeditated murder he could still be convicted on alternative charges of murder or culpable homicide.

Roux said the athlete had not done well under cross-examination in the witness box.
“He changed his version a number of times when tested by Gerrie Nel, making it nearly impossible for the court to accept his version,” the lawyer said.

But Martin Hood, a criminal lawyer watching the trial closely, believes that despite the confusing defence the state has not done enough to prove premeditated murder.

“Premeditated murder requires that there was a plan,” said Hood. “I think what we have here is a crime of passion, an intentional crime, but a crime of passion.”

Assistant prosecutor Andrea Johnson said that the closing arguments had already been sent to the judge and that the state prosecutor will be the first to address the court. — AFP.