Reeva Steenkamp murdered by Oscar Pistorius

Its déjà vu time again isn’t it with Oscar Pistorius back in court facing once again sentencing for his crimes? This time for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. Oh yes he was there before for the exact same reason 2 months ago, when he was simply released on further bail, if you can work that one out, eh?

Another time, here he is with his ultra expensive defence team once more, who will spend days convincing the biased judge that Pistorius should NOT serve the minimum of 15 years in jail that all other South African murders, particularly poor black ones, get send down for, eh?

The court must decide on whether there are “substantial and compelling” reasons why this murderer should not languish behind bars like others do.

How can justice be served or even hope to be seen to be served, when this guy’s sentencing is in the hands of someone who had already ‘acquitted’ him of the actual murder? Moreover, how can the person who then went on to give the man a less than a year’s derisory jail time for manslaughter, be the one to deliver an unsympathetic incarceration judgement? Furthermore, how can the person who has just been overruled and told by the highest criminal court in the land that they didn’t know their arse from their elbow when it came down to understanding South African law, be the one to deliver and appropriate unbiased punishment? It is a sick joke that trial judge Thokozile Masipa is in Court today to perform the very function of sending Pistorius to jail for the correct term behind bars – but it’s not funny, is it?

The high-powered Defence, as clever as ever, immediately brought-on a psychologist to tell us all that if Pistorius was his patient he would conclude he was mentally ill now with all the stress (of facing real jail-time?) – mind you not just any old ‘mind-doctor’ but the very one that the Court had originally used to prove that Pistorius was fit for the original trial a couple of years ago, eh?

Now, it would be of course extremely discourteous to suggest that Pistorius’ money had coloured this eminent doctor’s clinical judgement, but unlike with a severe physical injury (like a broken leg say), it is much more difficult to diagnose a mental condition (like depression say), particularly when the person is a clever adaptable devious person who has extensive access to professional medical coaching on the symptoms to display, wouldn’t you say?

His claim is that Pistorius couldn’t give evidence as he is in layman’s terms ‘broken’ and should be in hospital – no mention then that his victim Reeva is ‘dead’ and is in her grave? If Pistorius is now broken when if follows 8 months of freedom living in absolute luxury with his family, perhaps he will be ‘less broken’ following years behind bars living in relative poverty with fellow criminals, don’t you think? The doctor says it would be ‘detrimental’ for Pistorius to send him to prison, but he doesn’t asses how ‘much more detrimental’ it was for Reeva to have her brains blasted out by Pistorius, did he? Most of us accept that it is supposed to be bloody detrimental for all murders to go to prison, which in layman’s terms is called punishment and deterrent, isn’t it?

This witness’ glowing account of Pistorius’ validity to avoid prison seems a bit one-sided when he failed to report some disturbing aspects of Pistorius’ jail behaviours and not least that he was not so broken that recently he could give a TV interview (to be screened next week after the sentencing hearing is complete).

Furthermore, he had the audacity to claim that Pistorius has taken responsibility for his actions (when nothing has been further from the truth as he has consistently pleaded he has done nothing wrong), that he has previously made a positive contribution to society (when his charity work was simply what all sports personalities do for publicity and to satisfy their sponsors), that he had been punished enough by his damaged reputation (when he has repeatedly sought to retain the support of the public), that his crime resulted from human failings (when we know that the murder was caused not least by his obsession with firearms and their killing power), and that he is a vulnerable person, physically, socially and psychologically (when that is the excuse trotted out time and time again which doesn’t gel with the evidence of his lifestyle BEFORE he committed murder and had to face the consequences, does it?).

When all the Defence’s court argument and violin playing to get Pistorius off from paying the just price for murder is finally over, you can bet your bottom dollar that the SA Justice System will fail Reeva Steenkamp again, don’t you think? Judge Masipa, if true to form will take an inordinate time to come to her decision (Pistorius will get more bail), and then the most likely outcome is that she will reduce the legal minimum sentence by the credit time of ALL the periods that Pistorius has been on bail before and after the trial, as well as the short time he actually spent in prison (in a hospital ward with his own en-suite facility and his own private food regime, no less) – if she doesn’t simply get him sent to his own chosen private hospital for a few years to de-stress, and so she’ll say to save the State some money, perhaps?

[Unfortunately, we will have to suffer some more days hearing about what a saddo Pistorius is and why he should be let off – and nothing at all about the tragic innocent victim Reeva Steenkamp]