Pistorius trial.

[Ethiaa]

It's a little odd innit

[Gibbon]

Celebrity rebate.

[RoryoftheRovers]

Just gets more difficult to understand.

[mrblackbat]

And more money to be wasted.... perhaps they're recouping the trial costs through tv rights? The Never Ending Story Part 27 - the Pistorius trial saga?

[Rover the Top]

I find it hard to understand that if there's a minimum sentence for committing a crime, a judge can cut that by more than half out of sympathy for the offender's personal circumstances. A lot of the things she said in explaining the sentence would apply to anyone guilty of murder. Surely the point of having longer sentences for serious crimes is to deter people from doing something so blatantly wrong as picking up a gun loaded with lethal ammo, moving towards a hidden person and firing four shots at them without finding out who they are or checking that your loved ones are safe and out the way. The way I'd see it, the minimum should be there for the cases where you can sympathise with the offender, with stricter sentences for those who don't show remorse, etc. In this case, it feels like the judge has treated the minimum as the maximum and cut down from there. There's a feeling that she's still working to her original judgement rather than reassessing after being overruled.

[Dan]

Prosecution to appeal - sentence is unjust and shockingly lenient.

[wrinks_89]

I hope they do go ahead with the appeal. Far too lenient a sentence and with other things coming to light regarding his use of firearms and shooting someone else in a public place; I think he needs to serve a longer sentence.

[Rover the Top]

The trial judge has rejected the appeal against her sentence. Prosecution have the option to go over her head now.

[Ethiaa]

It's a little odd that you get the same Judge to assess their own decision when you appeal isn't it.

[Rover the Top]

Yes. You wouldn't go to the same doctor for a second opinion on their diagnosis. I can't see the logic and it seems a wasted step if she can be bypassed now anyway. From a layman's perspective, it's a concern that the judge significantly deviating from sentencing guidelines wasn't grounds in itself for an appeal.

[Ethiaa]

If it's a guideline then it's a guideline

[mrblackbat]

Is it me, or does the South African judicial system not come out of this farce particularly well?

[Rover the Top]

Is it me, or does the South African judicial system not come out of this farce particularly well?

It's you, you don't come out of this farce particularly well...

I'm still waiting for the statistics on the number of violent intruders using their would-be victim's toilet before carrying out their attack...

[Rover the Top]

And on it goes...

[Rover the Top]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-42107701

Sentence increased to the minimum 15 years.