Pistorius Polarisation

[princerupe74]

i can't recall another case where, from the outset, people for and against the accused have publicly claimed such opposing accounts of what happened. It seems that every few hours someone from one side or the other comes out with an explanation to try and sway opinion as to whether Pistorius did or didn't kill his girlfriend. The media will lap up anything about the case because it is sensational, it features a high-profile celebrity, and most importantly to them it features a beautiful young girl - the greatest obsession of the media today. Both the coverage and the counter claims are so totally distasteful considering the girl is dead. Her hideous demise and its effects on her loved ones appears completely overlooked as the media milks the case for all its worth and Pistorius' friends and foes focus on clearing or blackening his name before a court can decide. Your thoughts?

[Brinjal]

As in all high profile murder cases it is easy to take sides but until evidence is heard I try to keep neutral . However having said that I am a gun owner and would find it difficult to put four bullets into an intruder in the dark one in the head.

[emmie]

that is what i thought her family seem to be all but ignored in this media scrum. Very difficult to see how this could turn out.

[NoMercy]

There's no doubt the defendant shot and killed his girlfriend and yes, her beauty and his status have ensured that other world news has been overshadowed by this case. However the SA Police seem hellbent on swaying public opinion and securing a conviction and I cannot recall a case where police have been so informative in the early stages of an investigation as they have in this one. Certainly the picture given by the authorities is both ruinous to Pistorious' reputation and is completely at odds with the person described by his family and spokesperson.

Cases like these are seldom what they seem and I do have to question why the authorities are being so explicit at this stage - and surely it can only be injurious to the prosecution ultimately to permit a trial by media.

I did briefly wonder whether drug featured in this unfortunate event.

[divegirl]

I did hear on the radio in the very early stages of this event that he had been taken to hospital for blood test immediately after it happened so have to agree with you NoM that there could possibly be drugs involved.

[emmie]

awful whichever way you look at it, his girlfriend is dead, and his life is effectively over.

[NoMercy]

Indeed, it's a tragedy for all concerned and neither the explanation of her being mistaken for an intruder nor her being shot in cold blood seem to stack up which leads me to wonder whether he was chemically out of his mind.

The other possibility is that they were arguing, she sought refuge in the bathroom and he fired shots at the bathroom door in temper without any intention of actually shooting her. That seems a far more likely scenario to me.

[Brinjal]

Yes I doubt very much it was premeditated as the police are saying but whether it is an accident or in a fit of high emotion remains to be seen.

[Mick-Talbot]

I cant believe. he thought it was a burglar, would you be firing shots randomly in the dark at a supposed burglar not knowing where your other half was?

[NoMercy]

Nope.

Moreover, they were heard going at it hammer and tongs before any shots were fired.v

[Mick-Talbot]

Its looking like hero to zero I'm afraid.

[Sqad]

princerupe......the function of the media is to feed the interests of the public and these are varied. One of the functions is to highlight an interesting or contentious issue and let the public tear it apart ( like AB in many ways)

To do this one has to sell papers and stay on business......." old lady helped across road by teenager" does not sell papers,"old lady, widowed, pushed to the ground and mugged by teenager" does sell papers.

That's life.

[joggerjayne]

At the moment, we have very little real information.

We have what "information" we have been fed.

It wouldn't be the first high profile case where the Police have tried to paintnanpicture of a defendant for the public, so that an overwhelming view is formed that the defendant must be guilty - before anyone has seen any evidence.

For the time being, I'm finding it hard to believe that Oscar would willfully kill his girlfriend in his own house.

[Mick-Talbot]

Why?
It happens all the time.

[joggerjayne]

Partly because it would be very messy, and virtually impossible to cover up.

[boxtops]

I can't remember any other recent case where everything has moved so quickly - the incident was only 14 Feb.

[ummmm]

JJ - Most domestics are not pre-planned.

[DTCwordfan]

look at the police smearing that has gone on with the Brit Indian guy whose newly married wife was bumped off in Capetown....

Princerupe, the Yeats case in Bristol threw enough speculation on both sides here.

[Mick-Talbot]

I would imagine that you don't think of the consequences in a blind fit of rage.

[joggerjayne]

I suppose not, ummmm

But most domestics end up with a sulky silence ... rather than being shot in the head.

I think it's hard to tell at the moment how much of what we are being told is factual, and how much is speculative.

The Police naturally want to persuade the world that Oscar must be guilty, before the defence have a chance to challenge any of the facts. That way, when the defence start to explain what happened, the prosecution can poo poo it and say Ha ha, everybody "knows" what really happened!

I'm reluctant to form a "guilty" view until we hear from someone other than the prosecuting authorities.