Is Oscar Pistorius Guilty? A Pastor's Perspective

I don't like placing judgement on people and I would much rather wait for the final verdict, however outside of the legalities I want to believe that Oscar is innocent, but there are just so many holes in his story. We have seen very often how people lie under oath when they realise how much trouble they are in. I hope that the truth prevails. Whatever it is.

I know that there have been examples of people lying under oath, but is Oscar the same type of person? I am not so sure his story has that many holes in it. The evidence presented today will be extremely interesting! Thanks for the comment. :)

I agree, he is innocent until proven guilty. I am hurt to see how people are reacting to this, passing so much judgement just based on what media are saying which we all know can sometimes be over dramatized.

The other evening I woke up feeling very distraught about the whole matter and felt God telling me to pray for him, whether he is innocent or not. In my heart I feel he is telling the truth. Reeva's family have amazed me with their humbleness, not once have they shown any anger or judgement towards Oscar. This just shows the type of person Reeva was, my heart and prays extend to them.

I agree totally with 'innocent until proven guilty'. I am a 100% believer of the old saying 'the truth always comes out in the end' and I believe that whatever the outcome justice will be served. Our opinions are just that - opinions. Let's leave the professionals to do what they do best and let Jesus be the redeemer. My thoughts and prayers are with all parties - it is tragedy at its highest! But let's also not forget the tradegies of the young girls who recently lost their lives to horrific acts of rape and violence. Whether you are famous or 'normal' these tragedies will always leave massive holes in peoples lives. Let's rather unite in prayer and not this waste of time gossip...

It's been an extremely sensational story with all kinds of stories and "facts" gently floating to the surface. The only part of his statement that confuses me is why Reeva would have locked herself in the bathroom? For me that raises a bit of a red flag.
But at the end of the day, a lady has lost her life and Oscar's life as well as that of his family, and Reeva's family, will never been the same. It is not our place to judge or pass opinion because we weren't there.

Well said, I too am not convinced of his guilt! I believe no one should judge him and let the truth be revealed soon. I pray that God will intervene and show the world the truth.

Yep, the reactions from the public can be equally as shocking. Those reactions are part of the reason I wrote this post. And I couldn't agree more on the Steenkamp family's humility. Deeply inspirational!

Hey Taryn! Great to hear from you on the blog! :) That saying is so prevalent here; the truth will indeed come out. And you're right about the violence against women, the time has come for it to end!

Sensational is the word! Interesting point about the locking of the bathroom. We'll have to see if the advocates point this out in the case. Time will tell. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the encouagement. Appreciate the comment! It could take almost a year for the "truth" to be revealed, the court case will most likely only be at the end of this year. This current case is only the bail application!

I too believe that the truth will prevail and we should hold off on judgement. I had a close friend, who was somewhat of a celebrity, killed by a drunk driver and saw first hand how inaccurate the newspaper articles where and how they take things out of context in order sensationalise it. It saddens me how we take everything that is fed to us by the media as being fact. I pray for both families involved in this terrible tragedy.

James, I think that the question should be asked is “Would Oscar be guilty had he in fact shot and killed a burglar?” in exactly the same manner that is tragically before us. It appears that, for most of your comments, people have indicated that one should not judge people however, I believe that it is important, from a legal perspective, to assess whether he should be legally judged based on the law – and not because he is some famous athlete or a hero to many in the world or because scripture says that we should not judge people. Our laws demand that people should be held accountable for their actions although it is sometimes unfairly applied but nevertheless, no matter what, justice should always prevail no matter who the victim or the perpetrator.

Had Oscar killed a burglar with exactly the same scenario that is played before us, I would agree that he should be guilty of the crime of murder – whether it is premeditated or not is another argument

When he shot at the door in his bathroom, four times, he had what we call in in law “Intent in the form of dolus eventualis or legal intention, which is present when the perpetrator objectively foresees the possibility of his act causing death and persists regardless of the consequences, suffices to find someone guilty of murder.”

In order for his defence of “self-defence” to sustain itself, he would have to prove the requirements for self-defence which are essentially:

1) There must be an imminent or immediate threat against life;
2) The amount of force by the attacker must be reasonable and no more than necessary to avoid the attack.
3) There must be no other choice than to use the force to evade the attack.

When he fired four shots into the bathroom door there was no imminent threat against him. If anything, there was no threat at all, unless the burglar chose to confront him, in which case it would have been reasonable to apply the force that he did to protect himself. But by his own admissions in court this did not take place. He shot indiscriminately four times into a door without first warning the burglar that he would shoot and most importantly to call out to his girlfriend to make sure that she was safe. Had he warned the burglar of his intent to use lethal force he would have been alerted to the fact who was actually behind the door.

Had he been facing his attacker that resulted in him having to make a spilt second decision or that he had physically mistaken Reeva as the attacker, then that would be different, but that is not the case.

The next question to be asked is “Was the four shots reasonable in the circumstances?”. Surely not. He did not even give the burglar an opportunity to surrender, or to escape!

Oscar, when he fired the four shots had to have foreseen the possibility that he would have killed someone – and nevertheless went ahead and fired the four fatal shots. That means he should be found guilty of murder.

Unfortunately, he did not kill a burglar but instead shot Reeva who was in a closed bathroom toilet, and during this process, not once called out to establish whether she was safe. As a husband and father, I find this remarkably strange and suspicious that he did not once during this process think to shout out to Reeva – his so called love. That is from the time that he closed his balcony window (or whatever he did outside on the balcony) - to the time that he grabbed his gun and ran towards the bathroom – I believe that a reasonable person would have grabbed their gun and got their girlfriend, who should be asleep on the bed at 03:00am, to safety but he did not.

There are a lot of questions unanswered and hopefully the day will come when he will have to stand in the box and explain to Reeva’s parents and family exactly what happened. I can assure you that it will not be as simple as signing an affidavit in which his expert legal team had the opportunity in coaching him into signing and without it been vigorously challenged by the prosecutor.

For now we can only pray for everyone affected by his actions on both sides.

Anonymous, I agree with you 100%. But I still feel sorry for Oscar and most especially for Reeva and her family.

There cant, surely be more of a no brainer than this. You get out of bed because you think there is an intruder without saying to your girlfriend " I think I can hear something, I'm going to take a look". Instead, we're supposed to believe that he got out of bed, with no legs, neglected to notice his girlfriend wasn't in bed with him? Shuffled to the toilet - shouted at the "intruder" - who didn't say" no, honey, it's not an intruder, it's me". Oh purlease.

Oh, for God's sake. He is as guilty as sin. This is o.j.simpson all over again. A corrupt government, too much money, celebrity and ........if he stands up in court in june and shouts " ok, it's obvious I murdered her - bur I'm so famous, wealthy and influential - I don't care"......he would probably still be found not guilty God help Reeva's family, having to cope with this obscene injustice.

Not convinced? ????????? How many gun shots do you want into an innocent, beautiful young woman do you need to understand that he murdered her? Are you mentally impaired?

Are you some sicko? You feel sorry for that man????????

Maybe if you lot got rid of your obsession with guns, your countries would have less murders? ?????????? Mmmmmmm

Get a life james - does this Blog make you feel important? He is guilty. End of - you know it, the world knows it, but above all of that, Reeva's family know that, and deserve to see justice prevail. God forbid, we get another o j. celebrity circus.

Come on, james....you've expert "I was there" opinion on that? Thought not, you don't have one.

Isn't it stange that the only blogs you answer are those advocating the murderer's ( sorry, alleged murderer) innocence? Any implying guilt, you don't reply to. ........on the payroll??

I feel sorry, for him that he had it all, and messed it up in such a huge way. I'm a christian. I feel sorry for people when they make terrible mistakes. Because no matter what happened, a beautiful young woman is dead and a young man's life is forever destroyed. Yes, I think he needs to pay for what he has done, still doesn't mean I can't feel sympathy because of two lives forever destroyed. If that makes me sick, well...

Thanks for the comment, "anonymous". Of course I don't have an expert opinion on that. And let's be honest, neither do you. Unless you are willing to give away your identity that may reveal that you do in fact have such expertise. Your assumptions are valid, but as Magistrate Desmond Nair said, so is the evidence brought forward thus far point to Oscar's statement. We must also note that Oscar has not flinched on his original affidavit. This is something to take note of.

Thanks for the comment! :) Would love to see who I'm talking to.

For God's sake indeed. Can we cool off on the emotional, anonymous rants? For humanity's sake as well.

No strange at all. You will notice last week's blog is about focus. I only have specified time each week to check on my blog comments, and respond where necessary. Saturday night 23rd Feb was one such time. Hence I read your comment and am now replying. ;) So, I don't see anything untoward in my responses which are made with a fully revealed identity.

And the payroll opinion seems extremely off topic. But thanks for the comment anyway.

Allow me to respond to your points...

1. I have a life. Quite an insanely busy one, but extremely exciting and satisfying one. Thank you for the advice, anyway.
2. No, it doesn't make me feel important. My wife and family help toward me already feeling rather important thank you. Right behind some supernatural revelation of what my Creator thinks of me. This blog makes up part of my life's goals. It's healthy to set goals in your life and pursue them. You should try it some time.
3. No, I don't know that he's guilty. And judging by the comments on the internet, the world doesn't know it either.
4. Again, not sure if Reeva's family know it. (Of course they know that he is guilty of culpable homicide, but not pre-meditated murder, yet). I have seen statements from the family that have nothing but kind words toward Oscar, unlike yourself who hasn't been affected by his mistake one bit.
5. OJ Simpson's case is entirely different to this. South Africa's court system is extremely capable of making a correct judgment, unlike an easily waivered group of public jurors (as in America).

Thanks for the comment and kind words, anonymous. God bless you. (Wish I knew your name so as to bless you personally - but God knows who you are) ;)

MURDER and CULPABLE HOMICIDE are different crimes. Please calm down on the emotion. Oscar was very wrong for shooting so liberally like he did, but to say he intentionally wanted to kill his beautiful girlfriend (with NO historic evidence of past physical abuse) is quite a serious accusation, and one best reserved for highly trained and trusted professionals like Advocate Gerrie Nel.

And no, no medical health professionals have ever indicated any form of mental disability. Although, a few head injuries may make a case for otherwise. But the professionals think I am ok. Thank you for your concern, though. I will indeed keep this in mind at my next checkup and look for any strange patterns. How are you feeling "anonymous"? Been to the doctor lately?

Wow, anonymous, how your opinions vacillate so swiftly. ;) Haha. I'm kidding. Forgive the cynicism, but the recent influx of anonymous outrages have pushed me into the abyss of cynical satire. *snapping out of it*

Thank you for your comment, and I couldn't agree more on "holding off on the judgment". I would like to categorically say on record that I do not have an opinion on whether Oscar is guilty of premeditated murder or not, I simply hold to the principle of common law that declares men "innocent until proven guilty".

I agree, I have personally prayed a few times for the Steenkamps and the Pistorious'.

Thanks again for the comment!

In response to these 3 comments above from again (surprise surprise!) "ANONYMOUS":

Anonymous 1: Thank you for agreeing me. It does give one a nice sense of satisfaction. Your agreement is appreciated. And yes, I feel deeply sorry for the Steenkamps and Pistorious'.

Anonymous 2: Um, again (as already mentioned to a previous anonymous commenter) I have not had any medical or psychatric health professional declare me a "sicko". So, no. And yes, I do indeed feel very sorry for the man. As I do for the Steenkamps.

Anonymous 3: Thank you for backing me up. That's a nice lift. ;) Yes, justice must take his course and he does need to pay (he's already paid R100,000 and his passports!) and again, thank you for your agreement on the fact that feeling sorry for a man like Oscar does not make one a Sicko.

Taryn, I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" for your fully revealed, only ever so slightly vulnerable, and entirely transparent comment under your own name. In light of all these anonymous comments, it is SO appreciated. :)

My dear friends and fellow human beings,

thank you all for your remarkable response to this significant blog post. I so deeply appreciate the number of people who have taken the time to respond, even if most of them are anonymous.

If you are going to be emotional in your response, I do ask that you reveal your identity. The primary reason I ask this is because it is just too easy to make downright nasty comments from behind a computer screen without anyone in the world finding out who you are.

If you have the guts to reveal your identity (even just a Pseudo name) I promise you, YOU CAN WRITE WHAT YOU WANT. But if your comments made in emotional outburst are done so anonymously, I would prefer to delete them. Thus placing just a tad more accountability on you. And let's me honest, it truly is only a tad.

Thank you for your understand, and may God bless you all abundantly.

understandING. My bad. It's late. ;)

James...interesting post and comments.

I am going to touch on something which is not mentioned by anyone anywhere that I have seen, and it won't be a popular viewpoint.

I agree that we should not "judge others" but people often rip that verse out of context without knowing what it implies. This does not mean we should live our own lives and not call out sin when we see it in our own lives or those of our Christian brethren. We need to carry each other, and also, we need to be able to learn from our own falls and failures as much as we need to learn from those of the folks around us. We can learn much from tragedies like this.

The actions perpetrated by Oscar are indeed sinful, intentional or unintentional, but it struck me yesterday that there was a way for all of this to have been avoided. They both claimed to be Christians...yet what was she doing in his bed that night?? Without going into a debate on the impact of "ancient" Biblical mandates for chastity and purity in marriage/relationships and how that plays out in an oversexed modern world, had they applied some wisdom and Godly thinking about their relationship, she wouldn't have slept with him in his bed. If she still stayed overnight, she could have slept in another room, and gone to another bathroom altogether.

So many ifs and buts, but it just struck me that some wisdom in staying true to God's idea about marriage and relationships could have avoided tragedy (bar the issues coming up about the fear and paranoia that made him shoot before thinking, as it were).

I hope this comment is not taken as insulting to Reeva. I was merely bringing up a point that I think needs consideration from a Christian perspective.

Hi Morkel,

Firstly, thanks for making your comment under your official Google name. As you can see that's not a common option on this blog.
that is indeed a very valid point. Especially if they were both self-proclaimed Christians. You are entirely correct, following that basic New Testament Christian principle could well have prevented a tragedy like this. But hindsight is always a wonderful thing.

I don't think this opinion is insulting to Reeva or her family. What I do know is that it might unpopular because so few people in today's society abide by such principles, and therefore, many readers may come across this blog and disagree with you, unfortunately. I just hope they don't disagree with you in an insulting and anonymous way like that to my comments. ;)

Thanks for the comment, Morkel! :)

Gee, someone / people woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning :D. Its okay, he's a good boy... :P

I don't understand the whole guilty vs. non-guilty argument... he is guilty - of killing her. The only question is whether he was attempting to kill her, or a burglar.

Graham you legend! Haha. Tell me about!

Absolutely, when I say "guilty or not?" I am talking about "premeditated murder". Not culpable homicide. There is a big difference in the court of law!

By his own admission he shot her (although again according to his version this was accidentally) and this has to count for something. Why would he so willingly admit everything and co-operate with authorities if this was premeditated murder?

Anyways, it's an intriguing case and story on so many levels, and a tragedy on so many levels.

Hahahahahaha!! This whole anonymus thing is just too funny!!

Anyway, James you're freaking awesome and I couldn't agree with you more! Its so easy to simply point fingers and to blame. Heck, the whole world is doing it! You will find that some of his most faithful supporters turned against him the moment they heared the news.

We love people, care for people and believe in people when it best suits us. Our love can be pathetically conditional. Try to imagine if God treated us the same? Then again, most people walk around thinking that God is schizophrenic; happy with you today and angry with you tomorrow...

This whole thing is a tragedy! It is not a time for people to throw stones as though they are worthy to judge, as though they are better than him. The perfect God (worthy to judge) is not throwing any stones. Like I said before; when you think God is throwing stones at you, you will also throw a few to make yourself feel better...

Thanks James, this is awesome!

Chico you biscuit! You my friend are the legend! I couldn't agree with you more. It is so sad how quickly we judge our heroes. Keep rocking out in the Glorious Gospel of Grace bro! You're such a pioneer for the city of Durban!!

Hi all, James great blog, I don't "blog" much but this one is very cool. There have been some very interesting comments on this one, Some comments a bit more heated than others. As with all the other comments, this is simply my opinion and thoughts. Firstly, it is a tragedy for a number of reasons, chief among which is the fact that a beautiful person lost their life, that always makes me sad. I think Morkel had a very interesting point, But sadly the word "Christian" is thrown around a bit to liberally now days, in my experience if you are not Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, bahi ect. then you are a "Christian"!

I recon there are a great many facts that will never come to light regarding what really happened, the old adage, her side-his side-and the truth, springs to mind.

Lastly, as far as I understand the word, sin is sin, Jesus doesn't hold one more serious than another, yes I learned the hard way, pride is a high place to fall from. This means that stealing is as serious a sin as murder in the eyes of Jesus, the consequences of the two are very different tho and although Jesus will walk with us through it that won't make it any easier, he just makes us stronger. Anyway, again cool site. Oh and cool head James, some of those comments would have made a lesser person go off the deep end, the intention I'm sure. You are just as calm as I remember you. Please feel free to correct me on my understanding of grace and sin above. :) Later G

Hey thanks for the comment Grey! Absolutely, this is a tragedy on so many levels. And that is the major issue in the whole story. The tragedy of Reeva Steenkamp and what happened to her. The nation mourns with her family.

Yep, it is going to be difficult to get all the facts to the surface when only one person was there (Oscar). The officials have to use his testimony and all the evidence they can gather to prove something. No easy task.

And again you are right on with sin. Sin is sin. I am as much a sinner as a murderer. "We have ALL fallen short of the Glory of God". That's because we became sinners not by what we do or did, but by what Adam did. In the same way, we are made 100% righteous by what Jesus did! Jesus' sacrifice levels the playing field! He died for my sin, and the murderer's! Making us BOTH 100% righteous! When we're all equal in the eyes of God, tell me WHERE is room for judgment left?

Nice!

This is my first time posting on a blog so I'm still "ANONYMOUS": I know this is an "old" blog but just seen it for the first time. Your last comment James is simply profound! (When we're all equal in the eyes of God, tell me WHERE is room for judgment left?) It deserves a "selah" after it - think/ponder on this.

Dana -"-

That was the real answer! And lastly if he were not a famous influencial sport hero this would most likely have been done in court by now ( and let's really face the reality of it , - SENTENCED! )

People all over the world as someone pointed out, get up and go to the toilet...how many have been murdered up to now by there partner?...if his ears are that good and he heard a window open in the bathroom, how did he not hear her shuffling to the toilet in pitch darkness or the door shutting and bolting. WHY pay all the extra money for a place in a secured complex with guards ect, then act like there is no security?.
Why would anyone lock themselfs
in a totally blacked out flat at three in the morning?...erm he forgot the code to unlock his phone????
It goes on and on...He now has a new relationship!!!???maybe to help the grieving process..He is as guilty as hell.