Oscar Pistorious Battle with the Law - Admission/Application Essay Example

Oscar Pistorious’ Battle With the Law The Oscar Pistorious case caught the world by storm. It was expected. A world renowned double amputee who barely a year ago had been a marvel to watch at the London Olympics was now in the news for all the wrong reasons. Details trickled in of a shooting incident at his home in which his girlfriend, a model was fatally wounded. Soon afterwards it was established that the athlete himself shot her. What could have been the motive of killing a lover on the eve of Valentine’s Day? The athlete was arrested and investigations carried out. A bail hearing was held in which he was granted bail. This shone the light firmly on South Africa and its criminal justice system and unusually high homicide rates. This paper shall seek to study these two issues among many others. Above everything else it shall also try to work out the possibility that Pistorious shall be granted a fair trial and how effective the criminal justice system is in general. Criminal Justice systems across the world share several similarities but it is usually the differences that make it to the headlines. The South African system is no different. Once a murder is committed, the first stage is to seek to arrest suspects. Pistorious was arrested at his palacial home and put in police custody. This is an important move that makes it possible for the accused to have a chance to make themselves heard before court (Thom, 2013). There was a lot of controversy facing this case from the very beginning. Pistorious is very famous in South Africa and indeed across the world. He has had charges against him withdrawn in the past on account of his influence and celebrity. The decision therefore to put him behind bars as investigations went on reinforced the fact that justice was seen to be done. The next stage is entering a plea. At this stage, the accused merely has to appear in court and enter a plea. They say denial is always the first stage. So it was for pistorious. He appeared in court and entered a not-guilty plea. This plea was entered with regards to the charges he was facing.He was charged with murder. At this stage, there are no heated exchanges as we have come to expect during several court battles. It is merely a matter of procedure. The plea is not challenged by the judge either (ABC News). Oscar Pistoriuos, perhaps unsurprisingly entered a not guilty plea. This was expected all along because of the waythe defense had framed its arguments on the events leading up to the shooting.According to them, the shooting was not intended to harm Reeva but rather someone who Pistorious thought to be an intruder.South Africa has high levels of crime so up to this point this looks like a plausible case. However, the prosecution argued that Pistorious was a person who loved guns. They also brought in the issue of the nature of the shooting. There were several shots fired through the bathroom door. The main question they sought an answer to is why someone had to shoot murderously without giving the person in the bathroom the chance to identify themselves. According to the prosecution, a single warning shot in the air could have sufficed (Polgreen & Cowell, 2013). However, as we know now, Pistorious was eventually granted the bail he fought so hard for. He is now living with other family members in a house other than the crime scene. Recent news suggest that he could be close to suicide. The thought of killing his loving girlfriend seems too hard to bear. Reeva’s family have also appeared severally in the media and merely pleaded for the larger public to let justice be done. They have been slow to apportion blame to his boyfriend (Polgreen & Cowell, 2013). The reasons why Pistorious was however granted bail must be mentioned. The contention at first by the prosecution was that Pistorious is a rich man and if given bail he might try to get away from the country to evade justice. The defence countered this by saying that he was ready to hand in his passport and any other documents demanded by the court. They also went on to say that the double amputee was a conspicuos figure who could not hide himself in a crowd and could therefore not go through an airport terminal undetected (Polgreen & Cowell, 2013). The next stage is the actual trial. Here both sides shall set forth their argument seeking either to prosecute or to defend Pistorious. At this stage, both sides shall elaborate on their positions a bit more and give reasons why they hold those views. So far however, we have indications of what the arguments shall be about. One side shall seek to have him convicted of murder i.e the proseciution while theother shall be seeking a lesser charge say manslaughter or culpable homicide. One thing is increasingly becoming clear though. Pistorious is going to spend time behind the bars.The only unanswered question up to this point is exactly how much time it is going to be. In this part I shall look at all the possible scenarios that could happen (Dolak, 2013). The first one the scenario in which he is convicted of murder. Murder in South Africa carries a sentence of life in prison. There are several things that could bring this sentence into being. The first one is that according to neighbour’s there was some commotion at his house on the night of Reevas death. This might be interpreted to mean that the two were not in good terms and therefore Pistorious killed her in a fit of rage (Global News). The next possible scenario is that Pistorious is convicted of manslaughter. This is a lesser charge. It implies that Pistorious had not really planned to kill Reeva and so it either happened as an accident or as a consequence of something else. Unlike murder, the defense shall labour to prove that it was also not pre-meditated. It shall be difficult to make this argument in the case of Pistorious. He is an owner of guns and therefore he had not bought any gun for instance with which to murder his girlfriend. The motive therefore is key and both sides shall try as much as possible to sway the evidence in their favour (Global News). There is also the last case scenario. In this case he shall be convicted of ‘culpable homicide’. The thinking behind this charge is very similar to the one on manslaughter above. The accused in this case did not kill Reeva through his own planning but rather by accident. The defense must also prove that there was no motive. The distinguishing factor between this charge and manslaughter is the time spent behind bars. Once again in this case, the time is vastly reduced to a few years in prison. However, this looks a very unlikely scenario unless some new information that is of critical importance is revealed (Dolak, 2013). However, even after exploring all the possible legal scenarios above, it must be said that it looks increasingly likely that Pistorious will be convicted of manslaughter. The South African forensic investigators are barely provided with the best conditions and resources in the conduct of their job. Therefore the tiniest but also very important bits of evidence might go undetected. In this case, it shall be to the advantage of the accused. Therefore there shall be a decision that for instance there was no prior planning on the part of the accused, a cornerstone of muder. Even after the ruling is given however, there shall be a provision for appeal (Motsoeneng, 2013). I should also note at this point that South Africa does not have a jury system. The trial judge will hear the whole case and make a ruling himself. In the case of a jury, there could be possible assumptions about the way they are to vote given elements like their skin colour for instance. This is a strong claim to make but it is important to bear in mind that the reason South Africa lacks a jury system in the first place is partly because of the likely influence of race on matters of law (Dolak, 2013). The weakest link in the South Afrcan criminal justice system is undoubtedly investigation. It is safe to assume that a large number of people are convivced each year, based on wrong evidence. This link came under the spotlight again during Pistorious’ case. The lead investigator was found to be an officer facing murder charges himself. How this was undetected until such a critical juncture in the case is baffling. The crime scene on the other hand was poorly handed.There are reports of investigators on the scene not wearing basics like gloves. This is totally unacceptable in a case of this magnitude which is supposed to prove that justice indeed applies to the rich and the poor alike. It is also unacceptable in a country like South Africa which is seeking to enter the club of developed nations (Global News). The strongest link in this case is the admission on the part of the accused that indeed he is the one who pulled the trigger. It was inevitable either. This admission enables the court to work from a point of knowledge rather than beginning from the point of asking who pulled the trigger. This also signals goodwill on the part of the accused (BBC News). On the whole, the Pistorious case is a feast for the media. The simple reason is that he is a renowned sports celebrity who has conquered unimaginable odds to be where he is today. What he is dealing with currently however, is the toughest challenge of his life. It is set to be decided for how long he is to spend time secluded from the rest of the society that admires him very much. If initial indications are any thing to go by, it is safe to say that his career as an athlete is over. The evidence is too overwhelming. At the best he should expect a few years in jail. However, it must be said it is out of his hands now. References Bhatia, S. 11th March 2013 ‘Reeva met her ex-boyfriend justn two days before she was killed---and pistorious interrupted them twice’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2291505/Oscar-Pistorious-girlfriend-met-her-ex-just-2-days-killed.html Polgreen, L., Cowell, A. 22nd February 2013’Pistorious is granted bail in killing of girlfriend’ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/world/africa/oscar-pistorious-bail-hearing.html?_r=0 Thom, L.Oscar Pistorious Home, Where Girlfriend was fatally shot, May be evidence in trial http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/03/oscar-pistorious-home-where-girlfriend-was-fatally-shot-may-be-evidence-in-the -trial/ BBC News Oscar pistorious’ shoots girlfriend’- local media http://bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21455453 Motsoeneng, T. feb 14 2013 “Blade Runner” Pistorious charged with murdering girlfriend http://reuters.com/article/iduSBREQ1DOAE20130214?irpc=932 Dolak, K. 23rd Feb 2013.’Oscar pistorious case: Key elements in the investigation’ ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/International/oscar-pistorious-case-key-elements-investigation/story?id=18563712 BBC News 22nd Feb 2013. Oscar Pistorious Case: Is South Africa’s legal system Reliable? http://bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21535387 Global News: A Look at South Africa’s Justice System http://www.globalnews.ca/6442814693.story.html Read More