Oscar Pistorius has recently been released on parole. It may be helpful to be reminded of how this can be. Pistorius was convicted of murder — the murder of whoever was in the toilet of his on-suite bathroom. He was given the minimum sentence applicable: 15 years, less time served, and he recently qualified for […]
Posts Tagged ‘Pistorius’
Pistorius: A brief reminder
Posted: 10th March 2024 by James Grant in Criminal Law, EducationTags: criminal law, dolus eventualis, murder, Pistorius, Self-defence
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Unsuccessful Attempts to Justify Judge Masipa’s Errors (Revised & Expanded)
Posted: 28th September 2014 by James Grant in EducationTags: dolus eventualis, error in objecto, Masipa, Pistorius, Reeva Steenkamp
*** This is a revised and substantially expanded version of the post “Unsuccessful attempts to Justify Judge Masipa’s Errors”. It is organised around themes rather than individual commentators. *** Introduction There is something deeply disturbing about many of the attempts that have been made to justify Judge Masipa’s judgment in the Pistorius case. They seem […]
The Perplexing Problem of Proof*
Posted: 8th April 2014 by James Grant in UncategorizedTags: evidence, murder, Pistorius, proof beyond a reasonable doubt
If, on a charge of murder, an accused claims to have been mistaken as to whether he was under attack – that he thought the person he shot and killed (who it transpires was his girlfriend) was imminently about to attack him, the veracity of this claim would seem to be undermined by evidence that […]
Evidence of ‘bad character’ and ‘prior bad acts’*
Posted: 5th March 2014 by James Grant in EducationTags: character evidence, criminal law, disposition, evidence, murder, Pistorius, prior bad acts, similar fact evidence
Many spectacular and sensational claims have been levelled at Oscar Pistorius in the media: that he has a bad temper, threated to break someone’s legs, is obsessed with firearms, fired a gun out of his sunroof, and another in a restaurant, was in illegal possession of ammunition and browsed pornographic websites on the night that […]
The (Original) Pistorius Defence
Posted: 3rd March 2014 by James Grant in EducationTags: criminal law, culpable homicide, murder, Pistorius, reasonable person.
In order to understand the defence of Oscar Pistorius to the charge of murder against him, it is necessary to have reference to the general requirements of criminal liability (see the overview on this site). In particular, one must have reference to the requirement that the fault requirement of criminal liability must extend or relate […]
Error in Objecto and Aberratio Ictus: Shooting the “wrong” person.
Posted: 28th February 2013 by James Grant in EducationTags: criminal law, culpable homicide, murder, Pistorius
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If I shoot a gun at a particular person, but I miss, the law recognises that the bullet may easily come to rest in a wall, a tree, or fall harmlessly to the ground somewhere. It could also, of course, strike another person – and this is where things get interesting. This is known in […]