I didn't think he had a leg to stand on.....

Possibly the family and friends of the murdered woman.

Here's the part that no one is talking about.


ANYONE that has EVER stayed in Johannesburg, or even Capetown to a lesser degree knows what I am talking about.

Rampant black on white crime. We're not talking robbery. Rape of any foreign women, murder of anyone that gets in the way. We had a convoy of armoured vans with guards toting fully automatic weapons every step of the way. A red light enroute meant a quick stop, and then thru the intersection. Once in the armed guarded hotel, we were asked to not leave the hotel, and if we did, to arrange armed escort, even across or down the street for meals.

An incredibly beautiful country, hobbled by violent crime.

I believe Pistorius believed his open bathroom window had allowed an intruder, and firing first, even thru a closed door was entirely appropriate given the crime-ridden populace.

I think the verdict indicates acknowledgement of the 300 pound gorilla.

You would have to have been there to understand the unspoken threat.

I know there are a couple of Pelicans in SA. Maybe they could chime in.

Amen! :D

OK. But even were those the thoughts running through his mind at that time, to not determine the location of his GF before unleashing 4 bullets through a closed door is beyond credulity.

+1 He knew what he was doing. It may not have been planned days and weeks and months in advance, but he knew who was on the other side of the door when he pulled the trigger 4 times.

^^^this

Didn't worry me. I did 5,000 kilometers with a surfboard on the roof and a bag of dope in the glovebox.

This guy is a dangerous nuttter who if he didn't kill this GF he would have killed the next 'I feared he'd kill me... I hid his gun': Pistorius's ex-girlfriend reveals how he made her 'sit on naughty step and drove at 200mph to punish her' | Mail Online

Entirely appropriate.....apparently not, since there was an innocent woman, a woman who was no longer laying next to him in the bed on the other side of that closed door..... He knew who was on the other side of that door alright, then he shot and killed her....

South Africa, and the rest of the world for that matter, doesn't allow you to kill an intruder.

Shooting through a door not knowing who was on the other side is simply wrong at ever level.
Was it pre meditated murder? Only Pistorius knows for sure.

He'll get some "time" but not enough IMO.

Who here, not knowing where there significant other was at the time.....and lets think here, at night if I get outta bed its for a washroom trip or a glass of water...Would just start shooting at the noise behind the bathroom door????? I just cant fathom that this guy didn't know exactly what he was doing. Pre meditated? maybe not but likely some result of a heated and passionate argument gone terribly wrong.
Not knowing much about the rules of law in S A, I also think the prosecution took to bold a step with the initial charges and should have gone for something in the second degree range to ensure conviction.

If I woke up in the middle of the night

and my wife wasn't in the bed,

and the bathroom door was closed,

I'd definitely fire a few through the door. Just in case.

I live in South Africa, and can assure you that living here is "interesting" at best.

There is a lot of crime, and more often than not the crime is associated with unbelievable levels of brutality and violence (violent farm murders are for instance a terrible reality which you should not Google if you don't have a very strong stomach).

It is however not quite what fingpilot has described, and that level of preparedness and security is more than a bit over the top. If anything it invites trouble.

The reality is that you have to be prepared for "eventualities" around here. For this reason most houses have alarm systems connected to rapid response armed guards, and are surrounded by high walls and electric fences. The more wealthy the suburb the higher the fences, and in the wealthiest of neighborhoods you will find 24-hour armed guards at many houses. Most windows have burglar bars, and most doors have steel security gates. Many people are armed - some lightly, some to the teeth.

Some will tell you that where they live this is not the case, but they will either be lying, in denial, or stop short of telling you that they live in an enclosed suburb with access control, which when asked they will invariably attribute to "privacy", which of course is basically lying...

For myself, I have high walls, electric fences, burglar proofing, guards on call and a gun. Yes, I have used my gun to defend myself, but no, I didn't shoot at an unseen assailant. I have, as several of my friends and family, suffered violent crime. I have had a friend murdered (shot several times with an AK47) and mutilated (a handgun emptied into his face while he was bleeding out on the ground) for no reason other than the keys to an everyday family car.

My brother nearly suffered the same fate but his life was saved by a man who shot and killed without taking the time to ask questions. It is a South African reality that influences how quickly and violently we react to threats.

In the past two or three years there were quite a few similar cases to that of Oscar, but without all the media hype. In two of the most high profile cases you had two fathers that had accidentally shot and killed their children under very similar circumstances. One shot his daughter through a door while his house was under attach from heavily armed robbers, and the other his daughter when he thought someone was burglarizing his car at night. Both incidentally escaped prison when due consideration was given to the circumstances which included the prevalence of violent crime.

With all of this in mind I honestly don't know how I would have reacted under the circumstances that it is alleged Oscar faced. I would hope that I would have checked on my wife first, but before this case I might possibly not have thought to do that. I do however know that I am not quite the trigger happy, arrogant, infantile cowboy Oscar has been shown to be, and would therefore have hopefully taken the time to think things over before doing the irreversible.

As for Oscar;

I think he does deserve the 10-15 years that he will probably be getting for the shooting. Though premeditated murder cannot be proven, it is abundantly clear that he was irresponsible, arrogant, and to my mind just too excited about the prospect of taking a life. In fact, I think he was inspired by the "bragging rights" that might have come with killing an intruder. He was a shooting incident waiting to happen, and it is sad that when it happened a young innocent person ended up dead.

i almost positive one of the rules of a firearm..

"be positive about the target and what is beyond that target" (paraphrasing)

the guy was a fool. if he is truly innocent of murder, the burden of killing someone by accident has to be hell.

^^^ this

Online stats seem to imply home invasion robberies are not more prevalent in South Africa than in the US. Might be worth looking into. The number of people who kill household members thinking they are strangers is quite significant in the US.

OK. Why is this news?

From 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 there were 16,259 murders in South Africa. How many of those made US headlines?

Thank you William. My time there started not long after the end of Apartheid. I loved it there, but it was a scary time. I eventually graduated off of the route. I still have nightmares about the Rio to Joberg route across the South Atlantic.