Whatever essence there is left of Reeva Steenkamp, it was acknowledged in courtroom GD on Wednesday 15 June 2016. The issue of her wounds was addressed, and if the court and the world should be allowed to see them. This was at the request of Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s father and the rest of her family.
This formed a stark contrast to the court seeing Oscar parading around on his stumps for effectively the third time during this trial [once to demo himself hitting a cricket bat at Barry Roux’s invitation, once in a re-enactment video made by the Pistorius’ and the third time in court yesterday].
When Oscar removed his prosthesis, many people in the gallery beside me instantly burst into tears, including a man sitting on my left. This was odd because it was the defence’s ploy to show Oscar on his stumps, something Oscar also consented to. So what was so heartbreaking about it? The intention was to solicit sympathy from the sentencing judge. But obviously it had an additional effect; the effect of portraying Oscar – poor, broken Oscar who needs to go to the hospital – as the real victim of his own crime.
Except he isn’t the victim, Reeva Steenkamp is. Remember her?
Look up to the moon… Look into the shimmering stars of the sea… Remember Reeva, Rage And Burn… and remember to live your dreams, because in the end, we are little more than unvoiced shadows and dust in the moonlight.
Those were the final words written in our book #RS. But now Reeva’s unvoiced shadow has been nudged back into existence. Oh yes, Reeva Steenkamp. Oh yes. Along with those final words in #RS we provided this haunting image of Reeva’s bloodied body lying at the bottom of the stairs.
The only place this image had previously been seen was in a split second clip from a documentary on YouTube. Despite being controversial, Nick and I have always believed in full transparency when it comes to discussing true crime. That includes showing images of the victims. Why? Because every murderer has a counterfeit narrative which must be countered with the truth. These images are the truth.
On June 15, 2016, Judge Masipa granted the release of 6 previously sealed photos of Reeva. They’re images that Barry and June personally selected after the gut-wrenching task of reviewing dozens of death scene photos. Below, you’ll see some of these images for the first time.
Nel: “Isn’t it time for the world to see what Oscar Pistorius did with Black Talon rounds to Reeva Steenkamp’s head?”
Image courtesy of Thomas & Calvin Mollett
Image courtesy of Thomas & Calvin Mollett
Image courtesy of Thomas & Calvin Mollett
During testimony on June 14, 2016, Barry Steenkamp explained to Judge Masipa why he and June wanted the images released [1:21:10].
Barry: [while sobbing & trembling]
“…. the world can see this [the pain inflicted on Reeva] and that most probably will distract people who are thinking of that type of deed to stop them in the future.”
In response, Carl Pistorius had this to say on Twitter: “This application is distasteful to all parties. Except perhaps some parties who stand to profit from such.”
Speaking of profiting… the following day, Oscar removed his legs in front of the court and hobbled across the room while crying and nearly stumbling. Roux, and psychologist, Dr. Scholtz, argued that Oscar is a broken man who’s disability should prevent him from having to spend any more time in prison.
Look at Oscar’s image, then look again at Reeva’s. Is there any question who is the real victim in this case?
Oscar’s sentencing hearing is in full swing, and with the help of Nick, who’s on-site in the courtroom, we’ll be bringing you the sights and sounds from Pretoria [LIVE], right here on this page. The most current updates will be posted at the top. All time stamps are South Africa time.
2:05pm – With only an hour left to go in the court day [they always wrap up promptly at 3pm] Nel asks that they adjourn early so his last witness doesn’t have to carry over until tomorrow. He said it’ll be emotional testimony and may take up to two hours, or could be less. There are a few different theories of who the last witness will be. I originally read Kim Martin, but Kim wouldn’t take 2 hours. Some other theories are Gina Myers, Trish Taylor or Samantha Taylor. I think it will be June.
Roux was pretty annoyed by the multiple breaks that Nel has been requesting. He objected to them finishing early and said to Masipa he felt like it was a tactic. Nel barked back that it wasn’t, he was just trying to manage his witness and this adjournment was in their best interest. Masipa hesitated, but gave it to Nel. She seems to be a little softer on him these past few days than she was during the original trial.
After the last witness testifies tomorrow, both sides will argue their case, and then it goes to Masipa for a decision. Many think she’ll decide the sentence by Friday. I’m really not sure, although I lean on the side of Friday as well. I just don’t think anybody, including Masipa, wants to drag this out any longer.
1:22pm – From Nick: ‘June looks shattered.’
A voice of reason…
12:56pm – Roux is coming at Mashabane pretty hard. She’s been very emotive on the stand talking about her experience with Oscar. Roux trying to package it as simple incompatibility, but Mashabane clearly feels Oscar was out of line with his tantrums. Roux’s trying to get her to say that Oscar isn’t violent, to which she will not agree. Roux gets admonished by Masipa for trying to trick the witness. Hmmm… is Masipa starting to wake up?
12:55pm – Notice the dining table in the picture below – that’s the dining set that Oscar had in his Pretoria home. The one where he says that he and Reeva had dinner on the last night of her life while working on her modeling contracts. The one that was just feet away from Reeva’s dead body as Oscar dumped her at the bottom of his stairs. Carl’s working extra hard on PR this week… fishing for sympathy for Oscar but proving to the world how utterly insensitive their family can be.
12:35pm – Oscar glaring at Mashabane
12:30pm – From Nick: ‘Shrink lady shakes her head when Mashabane says Oscar was never assaulted as he claims. No report ever filed.’
12:27pm – Mashabane is going into a detailed explanation about what medication was officially prescribed for Oscar, and what wasn’t. When she tried to explain to him the protocol and why he was being denied certain drugs, he threw hissy fits. He also claimed that one of his medications wasn’t working, yet when he turned the bottle into Mashabane, it hadn’t been opened.
From Nick: ‘Masipa looks bemused. Barry Roux looks a bit worried. Like WTF has my client been doing?’
12:14pm – Oscar’s hand is on his forehead, staring at the prison official. This is the most interested he’s seemed in any of the testimony thus far.
12:10pm – Nurse Mashabane, a nurse from the prison where Oscar served 10 months, is the 2nd witness for the state. She’s talking about how on March 1, 2015, Oscar screamed at her to get out of his cell while he was sleeping and she was trying to complete her rounds. Apparently he covered himself with his sheet and told her she was disturbing him.
11:54am – From Nick: ‘Barry and June not really talking. Henke and Arnold not really talking.’
More of Carl’s B.S….
11:40am – Still on break. Carl was overheard talking to a security guard in the hall about facial recognition software. Lord knows what the hell the Incredible Hulk is up to now…
11:35am – From Nick: ‘Oscar did eventually leave the courtroom out a side door with Aimee and Carl.’
It’s hard to say if there’s tension amongst them, or if it’s just the emotion of the moment that has Oscar with his panties in a bunch.
11:29am – From Nick: Aimee and Carl went over to Oscar in the dock to console him but he turned away from them. I wonder if he’s upset with his family for not testifying? Whose decision was that? That must be pretty disappointing when not a single person in your life stands up for you. Where’s his buddy Alex P. who was a huge supporter of his back during trial?
11:20am – It looks like Oscar has some type of bruise or blister on his forehead. Any guesses on the cause? Fight? Drunken fall? Intentionally banged his head on the wall?
11:19am – Roux starts off cross-examination saying he had considered going through the objective findings with Barry today. But now after hearing his testimony, he has decided it wouldn’t be appropriate. He basically gave himself a pat on the back for working extra hard not to be a dick. FYI Roux, mentioning that you decided not to be a dick, still kinda makes you a dick.
So instead Roux just says they understand and they’re really very, very sorry. Barry acknowledges that Oscar did reach out to them through his lawyers to meet with them and they [he and June] declined. He says they’re just not ready to do it right now. Barry, says through tears, someday he wants to sit down alone – he and Oscar – to have a conversation.
Nick said he could see Oscar nod his head in agreement when Barry said this. And Roux reiterates that it’s indeed what Oscar wants. Can you imagine. How the hell do you have a conversation with the murderer of your child without ripping their throat out? But I can also appreciate how a victim would want to ask questions of a perpetrator. They’ll never get the answers they’re looking for, but I can appreciate the effort to try.
11:12am – Perhaps the most painful part of his testimony was when he talked about how he could visualize Reeva’s fear and pain as she was being murdered. He was in a place of not knowing what was real, and what he was imagining. Like a perpetual nightmare that you’re unsure whether it’s a hallucination or not. He would hurt himself by punching the wall and other objects so he could physically feel the pain. Feel Reeva’s pain. He was shaking uncontrollably while sharing this with the court.
Meanwhile, Aimee is seen in the background sitting totally stone-faced. The only visible emotion that I could detect was annoyance.
I’ve always found it incredibly telling that Reeva never mentioned Oscar to her dad. It’s a big deal for any woman to tell her dad about a guy she cares for. Dads don’t want to hear about random hook-ups and casual dating – obviously – nor do women want to share that kind of stuff. Women do however talk to their dad about special relationships. The fact that Reeva never even mentioned Oscar’s name to her dad, even though they spoke on the phone every Sunday, says a lot.
11:10am – Barry explained to the court that he and June were in a terrible financial situation at the time of Reeva’s death. Reeva had told friends that she wanted to make enough money to look after her parents one day. Barry says that just two weeks after Reeva’s murder, their landlord sent them a notice because of what she had seen in the news. They were so upset by this insensitivity that they decided to immediately relocate.
Barry talked about his disappointment that Oscar’s defense brought up the fact that Oscar gave them money. It was something that the lawyers had worked out and had agreed to keep out of the public [because it’s nobody’s fucking business.] It wasn’t blood money. Just like every family that’s ever filed a civil suit, the Steenkamps needed financial help – needed, not wanted – and Oscar paid up.
10:59am – I’ve seen a lot of court cases over the years, and a lot of devastation, but can honestly say that Barry’s testimony is some of the saddest testimony I’ve heard in a long time.
At one point he turned and spoke directly to Masipa asking that the court allow photos of Reeva’s injuries to be shown so the world can see the wounds and pain inflicted upon her. He also hopes “…. that the world can see this and that most probably distract people who are thinking of that type of deed to stop them in the future.”
10:29am – Barry is crying and shaking. It’s heartbreaking. He says they have pictures of Reeva all over the house. He’s changed completely since Reeva’s death. He can’t mix with people anymore. He sits on his veranda at 2/3am and smokes and has his coffee. Nick and I can attest to Barry having a bit of a wall. June has it too. When we met the Steenkamps last year, we all sat around one table, except for Barry who sat at a nearby table. He just needed a little bit of extra space. He didn’t really engage in much conversation. He seemed content with just being there and listening. Despite Barry being an incredibly warm and gracious person, it’s impossible to miss his brokenness. Now that’s REAL brokenness. Not the stuff that Oscar fakes.
“Every day of my life is the same” – Barry explaining, through tears, how although people say time heals, nothing has changed for him since Reeva’s death.
10:26am – Kim Martin’s husband is offering Barry support. Barry’s in the witness box now. [images courtesy of Karyn Maughn]
9:59am – From Nick… he says the tone in court today is “quite festive.” So obviously his vibe is much different than ours watching from afar, as is always the case anytime you’re actually present in court. Oscar came over briefly to where he [Nick] is sitting and looks less whacked out than yesterday. He’s hugging lots of people. Aimee gave her dad, Henke, a big hug. There hasn’t been any noticeable one on one interaction between Henke and Oscar.
9:54am – And again within minutes… the witness is done. That’s it for the defense? No family, no friends? An extremely lack luster ending on Oscar’s side. One can’t help but wonder, why. Have they given up? Do they know something we don’t?
Nel wants a break which means Barry Steenkamp is probably coming up next. Such an odd feeling these last few days. Like we’re on the home stretch of this quest for justice, and yet, it just feels empty and kind of unsatisfying. Oscar’s still playing games and the defense witnesses are still useless. Everyone has had enough.
9:33am – Today’s 2nd witness, and the final witness [I believe] for the defense is Marius Nel. He’s a pastor at 3C Ministries which helps the underprivileged. He’s also a registered spirital worker at DCS. He has visited Oscar many times over the past few years. He experienced Oscar as a man that was broken.
Marius says there are schools in need of assistance, for sports, nutrition, etc., and they’ve expressed interest in having Oscar help them out. When he says this, Jenna smiles and looks in Oscar’s direction with little imaginary hearts beaming from her eyes. Meanwhile, Oscar has his head down, probably doodling. He seems pretty uninterested.
9:30am – First up, is a woman from Iceland named Ebba Gudny Gudnundottir (not sure if I spelled that right.) 11 years ago, she found out while pregnant that her son would be born without legs. She went online and researched double amputee and images of Oscar came up. Her mother decided to write to Oscar, not really expecting to hear back. But Oscar did write to them and eventually they all met and a friendship formed. Oscar was a friend/mentor of sorts to both of Ebba’s children. At one of Oscar’s competitions, he gave his medal to Ebba’s son.
Ebba spent all of about 5 minutes on the stand. The only question Nel asked was the age of her son to which Ebba answered, eleven. My guess is that when/if Nel addresses this witness in his arguments that he’ll say the person Oscar was eleven years ago [when he first engaged with the family] is different than the person he is today.
Something to note: Oscar’s ex Jenna Edkins (BabyShoes) has been in court this week. She’s in the olive green sweater, sitting next to Aimee. Hmmm.. friends or lovers again?
9:23am – Nick reports there are big smiles at the start of Day 2. The courtroom is a little less full than yesterday. I’ve also experienced a quieter Twitter this morning. I think Scholtz completely turned everyone off. One of my friends on Websleuths sent me a message saying the following:
“I really lost heart with it all yesterday. Obviously we all want him locked up for as long as possible but know that won’t happen. Apart from being a first offender and having done anger management courses and having done anger management courses and getting psychotherapy, both of which were ordered by the court, IMO there are no mitigating circumstances.
It seems the anger management courses didn’t work, but I’m waiting for Nel to produce evidence that OP lied to Scholtz about having heard the man being raped and then saw him hanging for 30 minutes the following morning, and the fact that he was not assaulted.
If they are both lies, Masipa should read him the riot act and hand down a longer rather than shorter sentence. I’m afraid I have no confidence that her sentence will be appropriate. I’d love her to hand down another shockingly light sentence that the State will appeal to the SCA who I’m sure will deal with him harshly, but in her own way she’s as cunning as OP and will give him the lightest sentence she can without provoking the State to appeal.”
What is the Twitter world saying?…
Day 2 will begin at 9:30am on Tuesday, June 14
In the meantime, while we wait… Here’s a nod to the batshit crazy Pistorians… Pucker up, Oz.
Oscar’s sentencing hearing is in full swing, and with the help of Nick, who’s on-site in the courtroom, we’ll be bringing you the sights and sounds from Pretoria [LIVE], right here on this page. The most current updates will be posted at the top. All time stamps are South Africa time.
Check out Nick’s recap from today on Soundclound. He sat next to Marc Batchelor during the proceedings who couldn’t say enough bad things about Oscar – he truly hates the guy [no surprise]. Nick also met Gina Myers for the first time who he said was very friendly and sweet. He had a chance to briefly talk to Barry who, despite the terrible circumstances for which they’re in court, was his usual Barry self… a kind, warm man.
Carl’s Corner…
The defense has stated they’ll have two witnesses for this hearing. One is Professor Jonathan Scholtz who testified today (Monday). The second witness has not yet been named. We don’t know how many witnesses the state will have, although we do know that Barry Steenkamp is expected to be one of them.
Here are some key points brought up by Scholtz, as reported by The Guardian:
Scholtz said in his view Pistorius was “broken” and should be in hospital rather than prison. He says “Mr. Pistorius would be better served if he gave back in a positive and constructive way, using his skills”
The doctor said Pistorius’ depression, anxiety, paranoia and social phobia had worsened since his trial. He has post-traumatic stress disorder but is not a psychopath.
Scholtz said Pistorius cannot bear the sound of gunfire, even on television,and has sold all his firearms.
The former athlete has participated in courses on anger management and restorative justice, and the doctor believed his risk of violent reoffending was low.
Barry Roux, for the defence, said an episode in which Pistorius banged a table came after he had been denied access to a painkilling drug, Voltaren, for three weeks.
12:10pm – Blow after blow, Nel calls out Oscar’s [and Scholtz’s] bullshit. First, Oscar told Scholtz some sob story about how he saw a dead body [an inmate who had hanged himself] in prison and it traumatized him. It turns out, he never saw what he said he did. Oscar lied to Scholtz. Then we find out that when Oscar’s cell was raided in July 2015 [as part of the Krejcir debacle] the medication, Cipralex, was found. It’s not an illegal medication – it’s used to treat depression, OCD and GAD – the point was, it was against the rules for Oscar to have it, but Oscar being entitled, had it anyway.
As Nel requested a break, and the camera panned to Oscar, he look positively drugged. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Oscar so despondent. Instead of the drooling, sobbing guy from 2014, this was a zombie version of Oscar. But as Nel so aptly put it, Oscar wasn’t so despondent that he couldn’t participate in a TV interview.
Nel busted out a few brand new stories about Oscar for the court. The first one was a prickly little exchange with Captain van Aardt at a previous hearing.
“He [Oscar] confronted an investigator, Colonel [Mike] van Aardt directly, saying ‘please give us space and privacy, you didn’t do your job in any case’. That’s not a person who’s given up on life. That’s a person in charge,” prosecutor Gerrie Nel told psychologist Prof Jonathan Scholtz.
Then there was this:
He confronted one correctional services official, a sister Mashobane, in January, Nel said. “He got so upset with sister Mashobane that he approached her in her office. He was shaking and he banged the table.”
11:52am – The debate about Oscar’s intentions is now officially over. Sorry, you balloon-loving Pistorians! Scholtz says Oscar does [now] admit that he intentionally shot “the person” behind the door. Although, I get the sense he didn’t actually mean to admit that, but Nel certainly wasn’t gonna let him off the hook.
11:45am – Nel’s giving Scholtz a run for his money. He stood up for June and read from her book her passage about forgiveness. He pointed out to Scholtz that June forgave Oscar because her religion required her to do so. It as for heading for herself – it had nothing to do with excusing Oscar.
11:00am – One of Oscar’s mitigating factors, according to Scholtz, is that he wants to go to work for his uncle’s company. Not quite sure how that’s relevant, but ok. Oscar complained about the conditions in prison. He got an infection in his stumps from the shower floor. In perhaps the most insulting moment so far, Scholtz told the court that “the deceased’s” [not Reeva, the deceased] family has forgiven him and took money from him that they didn’t have to pay back. Bastards! Finally, before break, Scholtz ends off by saying there are two Oscars. The one with his legs, and the one without. There’s actually now a third Oscar too… the one who’s given up… cue violin. Tea break.
10:45am – Some of the highlights so far: Scholtz says Oscar’s condition is “severe.” His depression is worse than it was in 2014. His sister Aimee leaving town (for London) has been difficult because the two shared a close relationship – closer than the one he has with Carl. The grand majority of this report is the same as the one delivered to the court in 2014. Much emphasis has been put on his deceased mother and absent father. He claims to now want nothing to do with guns. He spends a lot of time praying, and at church, and has taken solace that Reeva is now with God. Wow, that’s generous.
10:06am – Dr. Scholtz from Weskoppies is first witness for defense. I’m curious to see who he interviewed this time around. Last time, it was basically just Oscar’s besties.
10:00am – Court starts on time. Masipa is very slow getting to the stand. There are no assessors for sentencing.
9:47am – What the hell is up with this picture?? Arnold looks like he’s on his way to hunt rhinos…
9:40am – Nick is now in the courtroom. He said Gerrie is all smiles. He just spotted Oscar who looks very sleepy. Oscar is hugging everyone – including cops. From Nick:
“Oscar looking very awkard. Surprisingly awkward.”
9:30am – Latest arrivals: Henke (Oscar’s dad), Brig. Gerard Labuschagne (ex-head of SAPS Investigative Psychology unit), and Barry Roux.
9:27am – Aimee just walked in. She recently relocated to London.
9:25am – Mangena’s there today! So great to see him. I’d love to hear some testimony from him again. Without a doubt, one of the strongest witnesses of the entire trial.
9:20am – Gina Myers is there and was reportedly giving the Steenkamps a hug. Interesting because when we met with the Steenkamps last year, they mentioned they did not have a relationship with the Myers family due to some mistrust. Maybe they’re just putting their differences aside for this hearing. Gina tweeted the following this morning:
“When I look into Barry Steenkamp’s eyes, I see Reeva’s. They’re beautiful and deep. He’s like a big teddy bear. Her parents are so strong.”
9:15am – It’s a full house with the Pistorius clan – Arnold, and at least one of his brothers, three of Oscar’s aunts, Carl and some other relatives are there. No Aimee.
9:00am– Barry and June have arrived. Kim Martin is there as well.
8:37am – The Hulk is in the house… Carl just arrived. He looks pretty somber.
8:20am – Court should be starting in about an hour and a half. Here are some scenes from outside the court, courtesy of Gia Nicolaides and Power987
8:03am – The weather is really lousy today in SA. As I Skyped with Nick earlier this morning (his time) I could see huge cracks of lighting outside his window. He’s currently stuck in traffic but not that far from the courthouse.
7:45am – Nel is at the courthouse. No sign of Oscar and family yet.
7:25am – Ulrich Roux on the radio says Oscar needs to testify to show remorse. He also anticipates there will be testimony from personnel at the prison commenting on Oscar’s behavior. Roux seemed a bit confused while speaking about Kim Martin – he referred to her as Oscar’s aunt.
6:30am – The hearing is expected to last for approximately four days. The proceedings will begin with mitigation. Who thinks that Oscar might be the first to take the stand? If he does, will it be the same old boohoohoo? I personally think we will see some of that again, but it may be tempered by some feigned remorse. Not that he’ll ever admit to doing anything wrong, I just think that he may try to go the route of acting a little more humble as opposed to his argumentative responses from the original trial.
When it’s the State’s turn, Barry Steenkamp will be speaking for the family. It will no doubt be a gut-wrenching moment for all.
Andrea Johnson, Nel’s right hand prosecutor who’s taken on a primary role in the case, has been vocal about her disapproval of Oscar doing an interview for TV [to be aired on June 24.] She’s said they’ll be considering the material as something that may be used in court. She’s also publicly said if Oscar’s sentence is less than 8 years, the state will appeal Masipa’s decision… again.
For those who may not be aware, the minimum sentence required for a conviction of Dolus Eventualis is 15 years. Judge Masipa will then apply credit for time served, as well as credit for mitigating factors, IF warranted. Has Masipa’s sympathy for Oscar waned over the past year? We’ll find out soon enough.
While we wait for the first arrivals at court, here’s what people are saying on Twitter…
And…. we can always count on Carl to quote from the bible…
On Friday, June 24, British broadcaster, ITV, will be airing an interview with Oscar Pistorius. According to Oscar’s uncle Arnold, the Pistorius family will not be receiving payment for the interview despite ‘crippling’ legal fees. Arnold went on to say they’ve mostly declined all paid-for interview offers.
If Oscar wanted to sell his story, could he, and if he could, why doesn’t he, and if he has, how has he?
Why climb mountains? Not always because it’s there, but because we’re not. We’re not all there. Something is missing, isn’t there? Pinocchio Syndrome is what attracts many people to mountains. People wish to use its symbolism to immunize themselves against criticism, and additionally to establish themselves as absolute symbols of human achievement – inspirational heroes, brave warriors, resolute conquerors. And the real world receives the summiteers as such, less interested in how they conquered the mountain, just that they did, less interested in who did what to get them there, just whether they got there or not.
Cincinnati – A male gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo was killed by keepers on Saturday after he dragged around a 4-year-old boy who fell into the enclosure, a zoo official said.
The boy crawled through a barrier and fell about 3.7m into a moat surrounding the habitat, where Harambe, a 181kg western lowland gorilla, grabbed him, Cincinnati Zoo Director Thane Maynard told reporters.
As a South African researching American court cases [Steven Avery, Jodi Arias, O.J. Simpson], I’ve been alarmed, surprised, impressed and entertained by the criminal law system in America. Having covered the Oscar Pistorius case firsthand, and seeing what it feels like to have judges [five in the case of the Supreme Court of Appeal] face off with a gallery packed with media, family and interested observers [including Lisa and myself], one gets a more subtle sense of emotions at play beyond the court case. But the Oscar trial is a case in point: the judge inexplicably got the verdict and the sentencing completely wrong.
Recently in South Africa, a white judge [Mabel Jansen] has come under fire for making allegedly racist comments on Facebook, saying that in her experience as a judge, there’s a rape culture amongst black South Africans. This has unleashed a furor in South Africa where mostly black men have demanded her head on a plate [not literally of course]. While Jansen is on special leave, there’s been some sober reflection on her “racist” comments. South Africa happens to be the rape capital of the world, and children, even infants, are regularly raped [and killed in the process] by their fathers, relatives or family friends]. Typically these are black individuals.
In South Africa there’s also a tribal belief that AIDS [a sexual scourge in South Africa, which has amongst the world’s highest infection rates, in the millions] can be healed by having sex with a baby. I’m not sure how one can’t impute that this amounts to a “rape culture”, however niche. In any event, Jansen, it turns out has adopted black children, which suggests to me, whether her comments were too general or completely unacceptable, her heart appears to be [to me] in the right place. But is that enough?
Coming back to the original question, can we be so bold as to trust the fates of black criminals to white judges and vice versa? In Masipa’s case, was her attempt to be fair to Oscar not influenced by a racial dynamic. Besides being slightly disabled herself, Masipa may have felt careful not to be too excessive in meting out justice. Giving Oscar a severe sentence [Masipa may have reasoned] might have been greeted with accusations of racism. Lisa and I have demonstrated in our JUICE narratives the alarming power of racism to sway entire juries, as we saw in the O.J. Simpson trial.
So how does one get around the problem of “compromised” judges, and “compromised” juries. How do we get a judge or a jury we can trust, and what exactly is a judge or a jury of our peers, whether in the States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand [all based on the jury system], or South Africa?
Even though the Appeal Court overturned Oscar’s previous verdict, and in the eyes of the law he’s now a murderer, will Judge Masipa continue to show him mercy? Essentially all the court has done so far is change Oscar’s label.
Here’s something to keep in mind…
“Masipa’s findings are still her findings. Nothing has changed.” – Judge Greenland
What do you think the outcome of the sentencing hearing will be after time served and mitigation are applied? Take the poll, and then share your comments below. I’d like to know if you think justice will only be served once Oscar does the mandatory sentence (15 years) behind bars. Or, is there justice in the Dolus Eventualis conviction alone? Let’s discuss.
If you’re one of our loyal readers then you know that #SHAKEDOWN is made up of me, Lisa Wilson a.k.a Juror13, and my partner in true crime writing, Nick van der Leek.
Nick and I are storytellers. We’re not mainstream media, we don’t work for a publication, and we’re not lawyers (although we’ve been accused of that in the past.) We are prolific researchers with a mutual passion for psychology and criminology. Crime is about victims, and justice for victims. But we’re also inspired by the other side of tragedy – the healing, the growing, the restoration – that comes from the deep interrogation and introspection of individuals. The deeply interactive nature of our narratives is what sets our true crime books apart from the others.
Did you know that according to Time Magazine’s 50 most influential gadgets of all-time list, the Amazon Kindle is #28? Our stories are specifically crafted to take advantage of the capabilities of the Kindle App. But you don’t need a Kindle to read, any digital device will do – smartphone, laptop, PC, tablet.
Speaking of technology and interconnectivity, Nick and I live 10,000 miles apart. In the two years I’ve known him, we’ve only spent three weeks together in the same place. Yet, we share a tremendous camaraderie and have built this successful writing partnership because we have technology to support us. That same technology can keep us connected to you. That’s what this new space is about. Having a place for all of us to connect with other creative and intelligent people; to discuss, debate and grow together. We also want to have some fun, we want to laugh and yes we do swear. I counted 52 instances of profanity in JUICE III [since edited down]. You’ve been warned.
Seeing this website come to life is particularly exciting for me because it marks a turning point in my career. For the past two years while I’ve been collaborating with Nick I’ve also held a full time job during the day. If you’ve listened to our podcasts which we often record in the middle of the night, you’ve probably had the joy of hearing me bitch about sleep deprivation. Hopefully (most) of those days will soon be in the past as I’m officially making this labor of love my career. I’ll still be doing other work, but #SHAKEDOWN will now be my primary focus.
The good news for our followers is that with both Nick and I at the helm, we can bring you more new content on a regular basis. In addition to the many book series that we have planned, like SICKOS [the Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo story], Robert Durst, and JonBenet Ramsey, to name a few, we’ll also be blogging about various cases and other topics every week. That content can be found on our Coming Soon, True Crime Blog and Forum pages.
We’ll also be hitting the road on occasion to bring you stories and photography from around the world. Nick and I will be making videos and podcasts so be sure to check out #SHAKEtube and Soundcloud. Our ultimate goal is to connect with producers, so #SHAKEDOWN can be the source code for exciting new True Crime documentaries. If we’re lucky, we’ll also get more fiction writing out of Nick. To find out about his epic Bloodline series, click on the Fiction tab above.
On my end, I’ll be working on bringing you audio [ACX] and print versions of all our current and future narratives. We’ll continue to sell from Amazon, but plan to branch out to other retailers, including Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Nook and eventually Google Books. We’re also gearing up to sell directly from our site which means we can pass down cost savings to you, our loyal readers.
If you want to learn how you can do all of this too, Nick and I will be teaching a variety of How-to-write and How-to-write-for-Kindle Workshops. Sign up for email alerts from our Home page so you can be informed of all the latest and greatest happenings on the site. Another way to connect with us, beyond this site and social media, is via our Whatsapp group. If you’d like to join those discussions, please private message your name and phone number to me @LisawJ13 and I’ll get you added to our list.
I now send you off to go explore and have fun. Please sniff around our site. We’ll be making frequent additions and updates, and we welcome your commentary and opinions. If you see anything you like, please also hook us up with your social media. Justice isn’t an individual thing, it’s a group thing, so we hope you’ll join us in our journey to find justice in the court of public opinion.
The defense has stated they’ll have two witnesses for this hearing. One is Professor Jonathan Scholtz who testified today (Monday). The second witness has not yet been named. We don’t know how many witnesses the state will have, although we do know that Barry Steenkamp is expected to be one of them.
and we’re not lawyers (although we’ve been accused of that in the past.) We are prolific researchers with a mutual passion for psychology and criminology. Crime is about victims, and justice for victims. But we’re also inspired by the other side of tragedy – the healing, the growing, the restoration – that comes from the deep interrogation and introspection of individuals. The deeply interactive nature of our narratives is what sets our true crime books apart from the others.
Speaking of technology and interconnectivity, Nick and I live 10,000 miles apart. In the two years I’ve known him, we’ve only spent three weeks together in the same place. Yet, we share a tremendous camaraderie and have built this successful writing partnership because we have technology to support us. That same technology can keep us connected to you. That’s what this new space is about. Having a place for all of us to connect with other creative and intelligent people; to discuss, debate and grow together. We also want to have some fun, we want to laugh and yes we do swear. I counted 52 instances of profanity in JUICE III [since edited down]. You’ve been warned.
On my end, I’ll be working on bringing you audio [ACX] and print versions of all our current and future narratives. We’ll continue to sell from Amazon, but plan to branch out to other retailers, including Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Nook and eventually Google Books. We’re also gearing up to sell directly from our site which means we can pass down cost savings to you, our loyal readers.
#SHAKEDOWN 