Friday, February 22, 2013

Oscar Pistorius Makes Bail

In South Africa it is actually fairly common for suspected murderers to get bail and then their cases languish for years while they roam the streets. I was hoping this case might be different, but the magistrate in the Oscar Pistorius case granted Oscar bail and he will be a free man until his trial. That trial date could be years from now and eventually my guess is that he will be found not guilty and then try and make money off the story. My only hope is that his sponsors never take him back on and that he loses all his money and is ostracized for the rest of his life much like Casey Anthony. The world knows Oscar killed his girlfriend. I just don't think the jury in his case will think so.

64 comments:

Audrey said...

I hope they at least confiscated his passport so he can't leave the country.

dee123 said...

South Africa doesn't use a jury system. Didn't we go through this before. Or is today a different person doing the postings?

Nicola Kirsty said...

Again with the jury! South Africa abolished the jury system in the 1930s.

It. Will. Be. Decided. By. A. Judge.

Tyler said...

@Audrey, I don't know if that happened, but I did hear the magistrate mention that Oscar has several which he offered to turn in should he be granted bail.

Henriette said...

There is no jury! Geez! I'm so sick of the American legal pundits talking out of their a$$es about a judicial system they know very little about.

From all I've heard and read about this case, South Africa's got a real kangaroo court system. The lead prosecutor is accused of shooting seven people and the judge didn't know!

Cathy said...

@Audrey - when I was reading your comment, at first I thought it said, "I hope they at least confiscated his prosthetics so he can't leave the country."

Nicola Kirsty said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lulu G said...

They just said on NPR that one of the conditions of bail was confiscation of his passport. I hope too that he is ostracized. I feel so badly for her family.

Agent**It said...

Enty JR, get it straight about the lack of a jury system in SA, you are flunking big time.

Pogue Mahone said...

Even if they took his passport with his money and his wealthy family I bet he'll still take off. He can easily buy a fake passport and hire a private jet and just leave the country, likely never to be heard from again. When you have money you can get away with anything.

Nicola Kirsty said...

From The Guardian newspaper.
Bail is actually 1m rand: 100,000 as a cash amount and 900,000 as a guarantee and surety.

Upon payment of the 100,000 rand he must be released with the following conditions:

• He appears in court on 4 June at 8.30am.

• He surrenders all passports.

• He refrains from applying for any passports.

• He refrains from entering any airport.

• He surrenders all firearms.

• He refrains from possessing any firearms.

• He refrains from talking to any witnesses for the prosecution.

• He will have a probation officer and correctional official from the date of release until the conclusion of the case.

• He shall inform the official all his movements and ask for permission for any journeys outside Pretoria.

• He shall give them a phone number and must be contactable day and night.

• He must not be charged with an offence of violence against women.

• He must not use drugs or alcohol.

• He must not return to his home and not make contact with any residents of his estate except the Stander family.

1m rand is £73,750.

hunter said...

Dee123, yes pretty sure we covered the "no jury" last time. What the hell Enty?!? There is NO JURY.

__-__=__ said...

I read somewhere she was pregnant. Has this been confirmed? War against women all over the world, with men in power protecting killers.

Kelly said...

Personally I'm more upset about the murder of this woman than Enty saying "jury". Jesus.

Brandy said...

He'll break that no alcohol rule.

Jessi said...

Right?! @renoblondee

Ok, so maybe he didn't read the comments of the last thread. Jesus people settle the F down!

urban chaos said...

I highly doubt Oscar will flee given that we all see it as a given he will either be given a much lesser sentence (slap on wrist) or be found not guilty.

Kerrimoo said...

Jeez, the 'pregnancy' rumour was in the National Enquirer - probably alongside some alien landing story.It is BS. SA is on the whole relieved he made bail - it'snot that we're necessaryilt on his side per se, I think we genuinely believe his story - innocent until proven guilty and all that. I need a huge glass of wine after that 2-odd hour session by Nair. Oh look, I already have one!

cheese toast said...

If someone murdered my child and I thought justice would not be served, I would take matters into my own hands. I would kill my child's killer. And it sounds like SA would be just the place to do it and get away with it.

SashaJames2 said...

I am glad he was granted bail. He had no reason to kill her intentionally and destroy his life by ending hers. Even her parents haven't said anything nasty about him and from all accounts they had a good and loving relationship albeit short. It's sad he has already been found guilty in the press before the trial.

trudi said...

Now that his guns will be taken away, how will he defend himself against the potential intruders that were keeping him up at night?

JSierra said...

Well folks, if you ever need to off someone, just take them on a nice vacay to SA. You don't even have to sit in jail a week, what a good deal!

And lets not pretend that well all believe Enty sits on the couch and hungrily reads every comment on every post every single day. I don't even do that.

Vita19a said...

That judge was scathing on the prosecution and lead investigator. It seems that they had to concede on every point of Pistorius’ affidavit. I guess they are used to doing a poor job when the accused is Joe Schmo.

cheese toast said...

I'm really pissed at my husband, we've been screaming at each other for hrs... oh hold up, I hear an intruder - he's taking a shower in my master bath!! Let me get my pistol..

trudi said...

Last night on TV it was mentioned that only 10% of SA murder cases end in a guilty verdict.

Kerrimoo said...

@Trudi - that's because most murders are unsolved, often not even really investigated. And forensics? What a joke. People who live on farms are being slaughtered. People who live in so-called 'squatter camps' (informal settlements or shanty towns) are being slaughtered. Too much trouble for the cops to investigate and solve these crimes. Sadly. Apparently the state's forensic lab has a backlog of YEARS. Sorry to say, but I imagine it's rather easy to murder someone and get away with it.

Noetje said...

I'm not convinced he's guilty of murdering her. I think there might be a chance he killed her by accident and if that is true I wouldn't want him to go to jail.
And honestly... if gun violence in SA is as bad as I've read I can't blame someone without legs (who can't just make a run for it) for shooting without checking first. It seems like a kill or be killed country.

Lelaina Pierce said...

Not at all shocking. With the exception of the jury thing, I think Enty is correct.

greenmountaingal said...

Maybe if they took away his legs he wouldn't be a flight risk...

Ok that was below the belt, but still.

SusanB said...

I told you guys before - the fix is in. The right people have been paid off.

Agree with Pogue - anyone can get a fake passport. I've seen him wearing prostheses that look like legs, he can just wear them, grow a beard, some hair and get that fake passport - he'll get away.

g.strathmore said...

National Enquirer broke the John Edwards affair/secret baby story way before the legitimate newspapers, so I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them out of hand. Respect! :)

jax said...

this is a gossip BLOG, not a NEWS OUTLET FFS.

what renoblondie said...jesus.

Agent**It said...

Then tell Enty Jr not to post about NEWS STORIES and to stick to gossip.

Megan said...

First time commenter here. This comment made me snort water out of my nose. At work. On my computer screen. Can I go home now? But thank you so much for the laugh.

Megan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
OneGirlRevolution said...

Enty stopped reading the comments years ago.

The judge brought up a couple of excellent points :

With his prosthetics, it would be virtually impossible to get on a plane without all sorts of alarms being set off when he went through security.

If he was faking the intruder story, why didn't he stage a bogus break in? The prosecution conceded that was a problem for them.

Mind you, those were points made by the judge, not the defense.

Apparently, the prosecution was unable to refute a single point of the defense's motion.

Something to think about before you all decide, with no evidence yet, that he was a woman beating bastard who murdered his girlfriend in cold blood, despite how sensationalized the papers are trying to make it.

As I said the other day, I hope many of you never serve on a jury.

Taracu said...

+2

Who cares? All this bishing about grammar and now the word jury. We know what he meant. He's no Ted C, where I would get headaches and have to read the blinds 4 times.

Sherry said...

I was about to say I doubt Enty even read the "no jury" part of our comments but someone beat me to it.

FrenchGirl said...

1/ until now, the prosecutor CAN'T prove the premeditation and he will lose if he want to keep it: in best he can prove the voluntary manslaughter if he has the clues that OP knew he shooted on his girlfriend and in worst,he can prove the negligent homicide


2/THERE IS NO JURY in SOUTH AFRICA: it's a judge who decides

@Lola @Nicola Kirsty:
thank you

Mango said...

If you want to address a comment to Enty, email him. AFAIK, he doesn't read the blog.

if gun violence in SA is as bad as I've read I can't blame someone without legs (who can't just make a run for it) for shooting without checking first.

@ Noetje - "Can't just make a run for it?" Are you being facetious? You DO know that Oscar Pistorius is a professional runner, right?

Agent**It said...

Lola, the writer who does these "news" posts and does read the comments on their little posts. Not the brightest bulb in Entyland.
It will be interesting to see what evidence is presented if this goes to trial.What a shitty job the police did at the murder scene.I wonder if they will drop the charge from premed to manslaughter and what that would mean under SA law.

Agent**It said...

The best way to contact EL would be to tweet or post directly on FB page.

J Ruth said...

This case makes me sick to my stomach. It's almost too painful to read. As one who can well recall locking myself in my ex's bathroom to hide from him, sitting on the cold tile floor for hours shaking and saying out loud to myself over and over that it will be OK...My heart aches for her in her final moments. It is so, so hard to get off the vicious merry-go-round of an abusive relationship, but it's sobering, devastating, and so, so important for women to see what can happen if they don't. I'm so sorry she died. I hope it convinces at least one woman to walk away before she's next, no matter how frightening it can be to take that step.

Jazzy said...

I hope he is found guilty and is left to rot in jail. If he isn't, he's finished anyway. His life, as he knew it, is over. The sponsors won't be able to associate with him on a global scale because everyone knows he's guilty. My question is, if his trial takes years to happen, doesn't that mean he can't travel to run in the Olympic qualifing races?

Tyler said...

@Jazzy, that's how it should be but this is S Africa we're talking about and he's their whack job national super hero so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

JSierra said...

Noetje he had on his blades when he shot her, he didn't shoot blindly from his bedside hoping to hit the intruder. He strapped on his legs and shot her.

Li said...

For those that haven't read Oscar's full statement, I thought it would be helpful to have it here.

If you want to compare his statement to his floor plan. Here's the floor plan.

Floor plan:
http://nbcnews.to/13fIF4M

Statement:

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 9mm 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"

See next post for rest of his statement.

Li said...

Rest of his statement...

"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."

jennybct said...

Ok, if he screamed for her to call the police wouldn't she have yelled back "it's me in the bathroom (you paranoid moron?)"

2. Who locks the door when you use the bathroom in the middle of the night when you're in a relationship? Unless you're afraid of the other person.

I call BS. He killed her on purpose.

jennybct said...

Ok, if he screamed for her to call the police wouldn't she have yelled back "it's me in the bathroom (you paranoid moron?)"

2. Who locks the door when you use the bathroom in the middle of the night when you're in a relationship? Unless you're afraid of the other person.

I call BS. He killed her on purpose.

smash said...

Thank you Li for taking the time to post that.

The bathroom/toilet were pretty far from the bed for him to just use his stumps rather then putting on his legs. It is a shame the crime scene is worthless since they walking all over it.

Anon said...

I agree with others about having a Chris Brown-free month but more like a Chris Brown free blog. No more posts about Brown on this blog at all.
There's enough white fuckery within this week alone to ignore Chris Brown and his indiscretion.

Between the Bladerunner,Alec Baldwin,Brolin and Peterson and their public abuse against females,who has time to focus on Chris.

No more Chris Brown posts becoz y'all don't deserve it.

auntliddy said...

this whole thing smells worse than three day old fish left out in the sun

Anon said...

Dude has prostethics,itz not like he'll get far.

JSierra said...

Li thank you for posting that!

If I had any doubts before, they are all gone after reading his official statement.

SingBlue said...

As I posted, well, posts ago, over the premeditation debate, the simple fact his first two calls were to legal advisers/family screams premeditation. By the definition of law.

But tink tink is gonna walk. The most beautiful country I've ever been to is still woefully corrupt. Sad all round.

caralw said...

Ummm. He's worried about a window not having burglar bars yet sleeps with the balcony door open?

He locked the bedroom door after leaving it?

He yelled for her to call the police and she didn't respond it was her?

He was afraid to turn on a light but not afraid to shout for her to call the police?

Not buying his story.

T Lex said...

Add:

She was shot in the hip through her shorts -- while using the toilet?

She didn't call out with the first shot -- or at all?

Modesty said...

No J, that has proven to be a lie. He was not wearing his legs.

mygeorgie said...

Cheese Toast: Goddamn that was hilarious! Seriously might have to pin this to my desktop for morning humour.

And ya, what fucking burglar stops to use your toilet? Guilty.

short le chic said...

@ cheese toast, it's not funny, but I think you nailed it. I suspect it was something along those lines!

short le chic said...

@ Nope, my sister recalled the same scene in her ex's bathroom. Most intelligent post here so far.

Goodnight said...

@Kerrimoo

To be fair, there is a backlog of years for forensics in many countries, including the US. Most people don't understand how long results take even when they're rushed. A non-priotiy DNA test can take literally a year or more to come back depending on what country you're from. Toxicology typically takes 6-8 weeks in the US where there are tons of labs so I imagine in countries where there are fewer labs it takes even longer.

Kathleen said...

No, Henriette, honey, it was the lead investigator who is accused of attempted murder, NOT the prosecutor. Speaking of talking out of your a$$ ...

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