PRETORIA, South Africa - Oscar Pistorius murder trial enters a critical phase Monday as his defence team attempts to recover from a faltering start and reinforce the disabled athletes claim that he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake because he was overwhelmed by a long-held fear of violent crime. Cheap Nike Vapormax China . Pistorius mindset when he stood on his stumps in a bathroom and pulled the trigger on his 9 mm pistol in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013 remains the crux of the South African trial that has captured worldwide attention and is about to start its seventh week of globally televised proceedings. It was initially scheduled to run for three weeks. Judge Thokozile Masipa will analyze thousands of pages of testimony before she reaches a verdict, but ultimately must ponder the pivotal question: Did Pistorius fire his gun with the intention to kill or out of a misplaced belief that his life was in danger from a perceived intruder? South Africa does not have trial by jury, meaning Masipa will decide, with the help of two assessors, if Pistorius overall account is believable and whether the apparent inconsistencies in his testimony count against him or are unimportant in the bigger picture. If Pistorius defence, which will resume calling witnesses Monday after a two-week trial recess, can show that his story of a tragic error is a reasonable explanation, even the double-amputee runners shaky testimony would be rendered irrelevant and the judge should acquit him of murder, legal experts say. While testifying, Pistorius sometimes contradicted earlier testimony and other times said he did not remember details. "The test doesnt end there," former state prosecutor Marius du Toit said of Pistorius testimony. "Its not over. They (the defence) can still show there is another plausible scenario." Du Toit has over 20 years experience in South Africas criminal justice system and is following the trial closely. He said it must be shown that Pistorius had the "sole intention" to kill Steenkamp to be convicted of murder. Pistorius, 27, doesnt dispute that he shot 29-year-old Steenkamp through a toilet door. He claims the killing was accidental and he fired four times in quick succession without thinking and while terrified, believing that an intruder had climbed up a ladder and through a bathroom window of his Pretoria villa in the pre-dawn hours and was about to come out of the cubicle and attack him. Prosecutors charge that the story is an intricate lie designed to cover up a murder. They say the couple fought, Steenkamp fled to the toilet screaming and Pistorius followed her and shot her through the wood door while they were arguing. She was hit in the hip, arm and head. Charged with premeditated murder, the first amputee to run at the Olympics faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He was once widely admired for overcoming the amputation of his lower legs as a baby to earn the right to run against the worlds top able-bodied athletes. The prosecutions case appeared to be bolstered as holes in Pistorius story were exposed when the athlete was on the stand for a fierce five-day cross-examination by prosecutor Gerrie Nel. Nel also succeeded in undermining the evidence given by the defences first two expert witnesses, a pathologist and a former police forensic scientist. But defence lawyers have only presented three of up to 17 witnesses they say they may ask to testify. At the outset of the defences case, lawyer Barry Roux said Pistorius actions on Valentines Day last year centred on his "disability" and "vulnerability" and Pistorius team will likely seek to rebuild the overall argument that his actions were guided by fear and not anger in a country with a high rate of violent home invasions. Roux said he will also show that a crucial thread of the prosecutions case is not true; that neighbours heard a woman screaming before and during the shots fired by Pistorius at around 3.17 a.m. on the fatal night. The lawyer said neighbours who live closer to Pistorius house in an upscale gated community in the suburbs of South Africas capital never heard a woman scream. Instead, it was Pistorius high-pitched shrieks for help after realizing his terrible mistake, the defence argues. Nike Vapormax Wholesale . PAUL, Minn. Air Max 95 Outlet Clearance . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit.DETROIT -- Jim Leyland dropped Austin Jackson to eighth in the batting order, hoping to relax the slumping Detroit outfielder. So naturally, Jacksons first plate appearance came with the bases loaded. After drawing a four-pitch walk to force in a run, he finally felt a little more at ease. A revitalized Jackson delivered in Leylands revamped lineup as the Tigers built a big lead and held on this time, beating the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Wednesday night to even the AL championship series 2-all. Detroit scored five runs in the second inning, the first coming home on Jacksons walk. "It was a big situation right there to try to get something done," Jackson said. "I think after Id seen a couple of pitches I was able to kind of just take some deep breaths and relax a little bit -- and not worry so much about the result, just try to get a good pitch." Jackson finished with two singles and two walks. He was 3 for 33 with 18 strikeouts in this post-season before Wednesday. Torii Hunter had a two-run double and Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs after Leyland moved the slumping Jackson out of the leadoff spot and bumped almost everyone else up a place following the Tigers 1-0 loss in Game 3. The Detroit manager was quick to deflect credit afterward. "This has nothing to do with Jim Leyland, this is about the players," Leyland said. "They executed, they came out, they played well." Jacksons bases-loaded walk off Jake Peavy in the second seemed to be a relief for most of Comerica Park. Another strikeout could have derailed the rally, but instead the Tigers broke the game open. Doug Fister, meanwhile, provided another fine outing for Detroit. He allowed a run in six innings, and the Tigers starting pitchers have yielded only three runs in 27 ALCS innings -- and struck out 42. After blowing a 5-0 lead in Game 2, Detroit kept the Red Sox at bay Wednesday. Game 5 is Thursday night in Detroit. The Tigers Anibal Sanchez faces Bostons Jon Lester in a rematch of Game 1, which was won by Detroit 1-0. Jacoby Ellsbury had four hits for the Red Sox on Wednesday, finishing a homer shy of the cycle, but now its Boston manager John Farrell fielding questions about whether a lineup shakeup is in order after another tough night against Detroits pitching. "The one thing that weve maintained is a constant approach with the lineup and not creating further uncertainty," Farrell said. "I think our guys have responded well to that." The Tigers lost Games 2 and 3, wasting gems by Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Leyland left Jackson in the lineup but changed the batting order. Jackson hit eighth, and with others moving up a spot, it made for an odd-looking lineup. Hunter hit leadoff for the first time since 1999 and Cabrera was second for only the third time in his career -- first since 2004. "That was pretty good. He switched things up, kind of shake it up a little bit," Hunter said. "It gave us a different mindset. Miggy hitting second, me leading off. It gave us a different mindset to make things happen." Leyland indicated his batting order would remain the same in Game 5 -- but will he be doing anything special with the lineup card from Wednesdays game? "Ill throw it away, unless I can sell it to some bar on the way home," he said. Jackson found himself batting in a cruucial situation right away in the second. Fake Air Force 1 For Sale. . Peavy walked him to force home the games first run. The Red Sox had a chance to halt that rally when Jose Iglesias hit a potential double play grounder to second, but Dustin Pedroia couldnt field it cleanly and Boston had to settle for a forceout at second that brought another run home. "That was my fault. Weve got to turn that double play," Pedroia said. "That ball was smoked. If I catch it, were getting two." Hunter followed with a double down the line in left to make it 4-0, and Cabrera added an RBI single. After walking three batters in the second inning, Peavy was in trouble again in the fourth. After a leadoff double by Omar Infante, Jackson slapped a single past a diving Pedroia to bring home a run. "It felt good to contribute to a win," Jackson said. "Just get a chance to go out there and not put so much pressure on yourself, just have fun." Cabreras single made it 7-0, and the Detroit third baseman -- who has been running even slower than usual over the last month or so because of groin problems -- caught reliever Brandon Workman and the Boston defence napping when he stole second without a throw. In the fifth, Cabrera looked healthy enough when he charged Pedroias slow grounder, barehanded it and threw to first for the out. Peavy allowed seven runs and five hits in three-plus innings. Detroit blew a 5-0 lead in Game 2 -- with the bullpen responsible for most of the damage-- and Cabrera and Prince Fielder both struck out with runners at the corners in the eighth inning of Game 3. The tension was building in Motown, but the defending AL champions jumped out to an early lead Wednesday. David Ortizs tying grand slam in Game 2 off Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit kept the Tigers from sweeping the first two games at Fenway Park. Detroit went to Benoit in the ninth Wednesday with a 7-2 lead, and Ellsbury hit an RBI triple with none out. But Benoit struck out Shane Victorino, ensuring that Ortiz wouldnt be able to bat as the tying run later in the inning. When Ortiz did come up for his rematch with Benoit, there was only one man on. The Boston designated hitter took another mighty swing, but his high fly to right was caught easily. Detroit had taken a no-hitter into the fifth inning of its previous four games. Pedroias single in the first put an end to that streak, but the Red Sox didnt do much against Fister. Boston had a chance to score first in the second. Mike Napoli, whose homer accounted for the only run of Game 3, led off with a double off the tip of Cabreras glove and went to third on a groundout. Cabrera caught Jarrod Saltalamacchias foul popup against the railing of the Detroit dugout, and Fister struck out Stephen Drew. After the Tigers scored five in the second, Boston put two on for Ortiz in the third. He pulled a grounder into Detroits shifted defence for the third out. Saltalamacchia hit an RBI single in the sixth, but Fister got out of a two-on, one-out situation after that. The right-hander allowed eight hits and a walk, striking out seven. Victorino hit an RBI double in the seventh to make it 7-2. NOTES: The Boston bullpen, which has been outstanding in this post-season, worked five scoreless innings. ... Drew Smyly got five outs in relief for Detroit, helping the Tigers get the game to Benoit. ' ' '
top of page
couple+ Fédération romande et tessinoise des services de consultations de couples*
​
bottom of page