The international cause celebre, at this point in time, is
the forthcoming trial of the South African Olympic Star, Oscar Pistorius who is
accused of killing his girlfriend, model and TV star, Reeva Steenkamp. To
orientate the uninitiated, Pistorius is the first athlete from the Paralympics,
for the disabled; to compete in the open Olympics and on top of that he was in
contention for the finals at the open Olympics.
PISTORIUS
Pistorius is known as The Blade Runner because of his carbon
fiber prosthetic legs. He was born without his lower leg bones called the
fibulas and had amputations below the knees at the age of one. To cut a long
story very very short he broke all sorts of world records at the Paralympics
before participating in the “Open” Olympics having overcome incredible
obstacles in the process. On top of that Pistorius was considered a role model.
Also very few, if anyone, regarded him as anything but a thorough gentleman. He
was highly regarded by famed international athletes who are finding it
difficult to “process” the turn of events. Anyone who saw and listened to Piers
Morgan’s interview of him on CNN had to be impressed by his humility, his charm
and his acceptance of the fact that he had a responsibility to so many
constituencies. He was blessed. This was no Lance Armstrong. Or so everyone
believed.
In South Africa he was an icon. - a white man in post
apartheid South Africa who was everyone’s hero. He was an inspiration to all
and then, all of a sudden his world crashed, and he now epitomized so many of
the unresolved problems within and without South Africa. Oscar Pistorius had
been arrested for the premeditated murder of his girlfriend. The circumstances
of the death of Pistorius’s partner were such that the topical issues of gun
control, domestic violence, and icons with clay feet were once again going to
be ventilated.
THE OUTLINE OF WHAT HAPPENED
That The Blade Runner had shot Ms Steenkamp was not in
question. The question was, was it murder or was it a mistake. The
investigating detectives and the prosecution had no doubt. You don’t just
arrest Oscar Pistorius unless you have a strong prime facie case. There is also
no doubt, from a legal point of view, on the basis of the facts available to
all, that the irresistible inference is that Pistorius has a compelling case to
answer. The Presiding Magistrate said as much at the bail hearing. The most
basic question of all was why did he just shoot without as much as enquiring who
was in the bathroom. If he feared being shot himself he could have stood out of
the door’s pathway.
If the court believes him that he made a “mistake” he might
still be guilty of culpable homicide, (manslaughter), as he would have to
answer the question, that even under those circumstances, “Would a reasonable
South African fire blindly through a closed door?”
There is a ton of other circumstantial evidence that needs
an explanation. It is not Jay H Ell’s intention to attempt to litigate this
case, as all the evidence must still be subject to cross - examination. Also
the ballistic evidence needs to be thoroughly sifted through as this may well
lend credence to one side or another versions of what happened that night. The
strongest point in Pistorius’s favor is that burglaries and intruders are a
common fear in post apartheid South Africa, particularly in certain areas. A
survey indicated that 50% of South Africans were afraid of burglaries and
intruders.
PUBLIC COMMENT, SENTIMENT AND THE PISTORIUS AURA
In South Africa, strictly speaking, you cannot comment on
the merits of a case that is being tried. This certainly was the position prior
to the institution of the new post apartheid Constitution. However the latter
guarantees Freedom of Speech so the situation is not so clear anymore. It
appears that every one is commenting on the merits of the case regardless of
the legal position. In the social media, newspapers and in the visual and
auditory media all and sundry are having their ten cents worth. Pistorius is
openly conducting a campaign for support and there has to be a big machine
backing his campaign, as he is among other things a highly valuable commercial
entity. He has sent flowers to the Steenkamp family and he held a memorial
service for her at his uncle’s home. In addition the social media is abuzz with
his side of the story.
The public although divided is leaning towards Pistorius’s
account. One fact that seems to be emerging in all these cause celebres is that
the public, generally, cannot tolerate the thought of a hero’s image being
dented. Pistorius is not only a hero he is an international icon. Even when the
evidence is overwhelming the faithful hang in until the bitter end. Once the
evidence becomes incontrovertible there is mourning at the loss of a beacon of
hope in a world that is becoming more and more chaotic. It is as if one of the
few symbols that represent some stability, “goodness”, achievement, and hope
has been taken away from them and died.
Jay H. Ell’s guess is by the time of the trial sentiment
will be strongly in Pistorius’s favor. In America that outcome would be bound
to have an impact on the jury pool. In South Africa there are no jury trials
only Bench trials that are decided by a Judge. However, Judges have to be impacted
by societal views and values……
GUNS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
Like America there is a vigorous debate on the right to own
guns. While there was always a gun culture, not dissimilar to the USA, it has
never been easy to own a gun in South Africa even in the apartheid era. Guns
were then generally owned by whites and were in much evidence with the army and
police. As far as the blacks were concerned they were the objects of
oppression. In response the liberation movements coveted them and obtained them.
Claire Taylor the spokesperson of the “Gun Free South
Africa” said that with the advent of Mandela there was a tremendous desire to
“put guns down”. In 2000 a strict
gun control act was passed by parliament. Since then violence by handguns has
dropped steadily, some times by 10% a year. The criteria to own a gun are very
strict. You have to be 21 or over, pass a really rigorous medical and criminal
background check, do training, pass a shooting test and recertify every 10
years. However, there is an active trade in the black market on guns and
several are reported stolen. The number of guns in South Africa is estimated at
about 6 million for a population of 50 million. South African police confiscate
a large number of “illegal” guns every day.
This episode has once evoked the issue between those who
believe it is a right to own a gun versus the “Gun Free Protection Group. The
former bemoaning the long wait to obtain a gun and the current backlog for
licenses and the latter maintaining that yet another unnecessary death has
occurred as a result of gun ownership,
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
Magistrate Nair
made it clear the reasons he was granting Pistorius bail. He was not considered
a flight risk nor had it had been shown that he was violent. The fact that Pistorius
is not violent is certainly being disputed in the social media and even by the
State. The latter maintained that
there was one incidence of assault that was not prosecuted and that he once
fired off a gun in a restaurant.
There are stories, even in the Press, that there had been
reports of domestic abuse of the selfsame Ms Steenkamp. A police spokesperson, Denise Beukes, stated that there had been reports from that house that amounted
to domestic violence. How much of this is true will be certainly sassed out by
the time of the trial. There are neighbors that reported hearing a quarrel that
preceded the shooting; there have to be cell phone records and all else that
might emerge in the interim. A previous girlfriend made allegations in the
press and then withdrew from the public scene.
Notwithstanding the merits of Pistorius case, social
advocates in South Africa have used the trial to focus on the fact that not
nearly enough has been done about domestic violence in the country.
UPSHOT
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