Oscar in Africa

[Grandad]

So the judge has convicted him of culpable homicide. Opinion is that the likely sentence will be 7 to 10 and this will be handed down in a couple of weeks.

Well I got that wrong

5 years with the possibility of being out under house arrest from next August for the rest of the term. Pretty lenient in my book but opinion seems to be that the judge handled the case very well and, as this was of international interest, I think she is to be congratulated. Reeva's parents are satisfied that 'justice has been done' so i would hope that that is the end of it.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Haven't heard the news here but 5 yrs.......seems very lenient to me. If Reeva's parents are ok and can find peace with this decision then I can only wish the best for them and hope and pray they can put the terrible tragedy of their daughter's death into a perspective that can be comfortable for them.

Oscar........well........I do believe the man has overcome many obstacles in his life through strength of will, determination, the try try try and try again attitude. I think his personality plus many other factors made him the person he is now and very hard to say from the outside looking in what made him do what he did. If his side of the story is true then it really was a terribly tragic accident gone very wrong however he took a life under suspicious and unclear circumstances that left lots of room for doubt. I think there is a price that must be paid for the decisions made and actions taken.

[Horus]

I’m afraid that I disagree, it is obviously a case of money talking and he has received preferential treatment. The judge in the case has to base her decision on previous similar cases so her decision is not really based upon the current facts, so if someone gets 3 years for shooting his wife as she came out of the bathroom in a darkened room as he woke up suddenly thinking it was a burglar about to attack his family, then that is used as a benchmark. Totally different to OP’s case where he intended to kill whoever was the other side of the door and with little or no justification for his actions. His case also came to trial very quickly and he was allowed bail, compare that to a similar case where there is a man in a wheelchair currently in the same jail awaiting a trial, yes STILL awaiting his trial and he has been in there for two years already, so a potentially innocent man in a wheelchair is being held in the same jail until his trial because he does not have the money to put up the bail, so by contrast OP may be released before this guy even gets into a court room. The South African legal system has been corrupt for many years and especially during Apartheid, sadly the fledgling country is trying to show the world that it has a just legal system and in doing so has in my opinion given a far too lenient sentence to a guilty but wealthy man. The fact that he will only serve around 10 months and then be under house arrest at his wealthy uncles posh house is to me an insult to the Steenkamp family and an affront to real justice.

[Grandad]

The Steenkamp family have publicly accepted that, in their view, justice has been done and are looking for closure of the crime.

I agree with much that you say Horus but that is South African justice and the way it works, whether we like it or not.

I do think there is something to be learned from the verdict and the way it is likely to be carried out. In our own justice system we are told continually that our prisons are overcrowded. Perhaps there should be some thought given to convictions of specific crimes being served partially in prison and some time in house arrest. It would require special monitoring but we have tags and tracking and it could well be a cheaper option and also reduce the load on the prison service.

[Horus]

[LovelyLadyLux]

I never personally heard about the man in the wheelchair waiting for 2 years facing a similar crime. If that is true and I have not a doubt it is that gives me a level of anger that Oscar was able to get his trial pushed through as quickly.

As for the Steenkamp family I took their response as a response that indicated they want to grieve the loss of their daughter and close something that can no longer be changed no matter what they do. It is a tragedy that is done and carrying it on and on is more stressful for all those involved than if the matter is closed and done with. I was thinking that on a personal level they're seething over what happened but if you can't change the outcome then the best course is to focus on healing.

Again I don't think 5 yrs with only 10 months being served sufficient. Am not too sure a further 4 years of house arrest on a lavish estate is really 'punishment' either and I'd prefer to see a plan whereby one has to go to a State farm or some such to work.