Oscar screams like a girl. But he shoots like he’s in Pulp Fiction. One, two, three, four shots at the burglar in the bathroom, who became Reeva, who died from her wounds. And that’s that.
Oscar screams like a girl. But he shoots like he’s in Pulp Fiction. One, two, three, four shots at the burglar in the bathroom, who became Reeva, who died from her wounds. And that’s that.
Indeed, Pistorius could sing like a soprano, seriously believe Hannibal Lecter was taking a bath and be standing on stilts when he fired.
It makes no difference.
Under criminal law, shooting repeatedly with intention, which results in the death of a human being, constitutes murder. And you can’t let em rip like you’re Samuel L Jackson and still argue there was no intention to kill.
Intention, action, outcome; done.
The identity, or mistaken identity of the victim, is immaterial. As my law school study-partner and long-time attorney commented, “What would he have said if there was an intruder in the bathroom? ‘I thought it was my girlfriend’?”
The person behind the door is completely academic: Even if there was genuinely a burglar in full view, but there was no imminent danger to Pistorius’ life, their fatal shooting would still be murder.
This should essentially be a one-week trial. The accused admitted to intentionally firing the shots, and the victim died. Open, shut.
Under non-celebrity circumstances I think we’d already be hearing evidence in mitigation of sentence; because based on the current plea, the verdict can only be that of guilt.
Indeed, to me this trial smacks of latent racism and ingrained anxieties that permeate our entire society.
Pistorius’ claim translates into “I believed there was a black guy in my house that came to rob me.” And for a second, many give it credence – their fears of violent crime and tendency towards ‘otherness’ rising up, even briefly.
But it doesn’t matter. By the accused’s own admission, the crime of murder according to its classic definition occurred. “Bang, bang. Bang, bang. I shot my baby down”.
Everything else – and we should all pause and ponder our nation’s predisposition to preconceptions and violence – is for us to quietly digest. But in my humble legal opinion, and many colleagues concur, murder this is – even if the dreaded black man with a panga existed.
The rest is soap opera, featuring a soprano that hits high notes with his voice and another human being with his shots.
Strato Copteros BA. LLB (Wits) is a freelance communications consultant and speaker who lectured Media Law & Ethics at Rhodes
