Oscar Pistorious...does he have the perfect excuse?
- Thread starter DaveyF
- Start date
Nobody said it's OK or is condoning it. It doesn't change the fact that it happens though.
There are far more important things to be outraged about than how criminals treat criminals. I'm far more outraged about innocent people who are raped, robbed, beaten, shot, and stabbed by criminals than I am by how criminals treat each other. Really. When all of that goes away, I will learn to get concerned about how criminals treat criminals and feign outrage over that.
Few people would lose much sleep over say Jerry Sandusky, other assorted rapists or violent murderers having a bit of a rough time in prison. But keep in mind that US prisons are full of non violent drug offenders, petty thieves, not to mention hordes of mentally ill people that ended up in jail because of cutbacks in mental health services. To dismiss any concern about the wellbeing of these inmates is rather callous if you ask me.
Even inside the prisons, the criminals and non-criminals have their own set of laws.
...Just like in a free (slave) society there are laws for the criminals walking freely our streets and the non-criminals (innocent people) living (or trying to) in harmony with each other.
...Just like in a free (slave) society there are laws for the criminals walking freely our streets and the non-criminals (innocent people) living (or trying to) in harmony with each other.
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So you want concern for some of the inmates but not inmates like Jerry Sandusky or other assorted rapists or violent murders? Again, I'm more concerned for innocent victims of violent crimes than for those who perpetuate violent crimes.
Most people would agree. However, if a non-violent inmate is raped in prison than he in fact becomes a victim of a violent crime himself, which by your own standards should concern you deeply. Unless of course you believe say a shoplifter or dope smoker is a non-innocent criminal that should be eligable for violent rape.
The bottom line is that prisons are made up of not so nice people that you probably wouldn't invite over to your house for a sleepover. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an advocate of prisoner violence against other prisoners. I don't condone it or derive any happiness from it. I'm just saying in the grand scheme of things, it's not high on my list of things to worry about with everything else going on in the world. I'm more outraged over innocent people being thrown in jail for the majority of their lives only to be exonerated by DNA evidence and given an "apology" from the state when they are finally released.
Is this a rhetorical question? Of course rape is a crime inside of prison if it's reported.
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
And along comes this.....
Lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case faces his own attempted murder charges
Oscar Pistorius' murder case took a sensational twist Thursday when it was revealed that the chief investigator who analyzed the scene of Reeva Steenkamp's fatal shooting faces seven counts of attempted murder charges himself.
Hilton Botha, whose stumbling and at times incoherent evidence on day two of Pistorius' bail hearing gave the Blade Runner's case a serious boost, was allegedly one of three drunk police officers who opened fire on a mini-bus taxi full of passengers in 2011, according to South Africa's Eyewitness News.
According to Botha, the shooting took place as part of the investigation into the murder of Denise Stratford, a Girl Scout leader whose body was discovered stuffed into a drain in 2011. Botha and colleagues were tracking the suspect and as part of their inquiries fired at the mini-bus when it failed to pull over when requested.
Botha was arrested at the time due to the charges, which were subsequently dropped, before it emerged Thursday that they had been reinstated.
"There was a decision taken by the director of public prosecution's office to charge the members, each one of them, with seven counts of attempted murder," said police spokesman Neville Malila. "That was the number of people that were in the taxi."
Botha denied he was drunk during the alleged incident and told South African legal journalist Karyn Maughan on Thursday morning that the reinstatement of the charge is "beyond my comprehension."
"I can only think it is linked to my work on the Oscar Pistorius case," he said.
In a statement, however, the South African National Prosecuting Authority revealed the murder charge against Botha was reinstated before the Pistorius incident, reportedly as early as Feb. 4. Botha insisted to the media that he only learned of the reinstatement after the Valentine's Day killing of Steenkamp. According to Malila, Botha is scheduled to appear in court in May to face the charges.
Thursday, the NPA called for Botha to be taken off the Pistorius case.
"If we have an investigating officer that is facing such serious charges, it cannot happen that he continues with this case," a spokesperson said.
Botha had become one of the major characters in the Pistorius case as it has unfolded with a bail hearing that stretched into a third day and resembled a mini-trial with detailed evidence being given from both sides.
The reason for the elongated hearing is a product of both the vagaries of the South African legal system and the desire of both the prosecution and defense to gain a positive result on bail.
During his testimony Wednesday, Botha unraveled under cross-examination from defense attorney Barry Roux, admitting that he couldn't find anything to contradict Pistorius' claim that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. Botha also opened himself to allegations he had contaminated the crime scene by revealing he had not worn protective shoes and was forced to admit one of his witnesses, a neighbor, was more than a quarter mile away from the scene.
Yet his blundering under oath was nothing compared to the damage that Thursday's bombshell may have done to the case, with Botha's credibility as an investigator pivotal.
Alex Eliseev, the Eyewitness News journalist who broke the Botha story, told 567 The Cape radio on Thursday that he contacted Botha following the publication of the report and that the senior policeman with 24 years of experience insisted the allegations against him were false.
"[Botha] says he was involved in an absolutely legitimate case," Eliseev said. "He says they tried to pull over the taxi, they were not drunk, they shot at the wheels and tried to get it to stop. He thought the case had been withdrawn."
The bail hearing continues Thursday.
Lead detective in Oscar Pistorius case faces his own attempted murder charges
Oscar Pistorius' murder case took a sensational twist Thursday when it was revealed that the chief investigator who analyzed the scene of Reeva Steenkamp's fatal shooting faces seven counts of attempted murder charges himself.
Hilton Botha, whose stumbling and at times incoherent evidence on day two of Pistorius' bail hearing gave the Blade Runner's case a serious boost, was allegedly one of three drunk police officers who opened fire on a mini-bus taxi full of passengers in 2011, according to South Africa's Eyewitness News.
According to Botha, the shooting took place as part of the investigation into the murder of Denise Stratford, a Girl Scout leader whose body was discovered stuffed into a drain in 2011. Botha and colleagues were tracking the suspect and as part of their inquiries fired at the mini-bus when it failed to pull over when requested.
Botha was arrested at the time due to the charges, which were subsequently dropped, before it emerged Thursday that they had been reinstated.
"There was a decision taken by the director of public prosecution's office to charge the members, each one of them, with seven counts of attempted murder," said police spokesman Neville Malila. "That was the number of people that were in the taxi."
Botha denied he was drunk during the alleged incident and told South African legal journalist Karyn Maughan on Thursday morning that the reinstatement of the charge is "beyond my comprehension."
"I can only think it is linked to my work on the Oscar Pistorius case," he said.
In a statement, however, the South African National Prosecuting Authority revealed the murder charge against Botha was reinstated before the Pistorius incident, reportedly as early as Feb. 4. Botha insisted to the media that he only learned of the reinstatement after the Valentine's Day killing of Steenkamp. According to Malila, Botha is scheduled to appear in court in May to face the charges.
Thursday, the NPA called for Botha to be taken off the Pistorius case.
"If we have an investigating officer that is facing such serious charges, it cannot happen that he continues with this case," a spokesperson said.
Botha had become one of the major characters in the Pistorius case as it has unfolded with a bail hearing that stretched into a third day and resembled a mini-trial with detailed evidence being given from both sides.
The reason for the elongated hearing is a product of both the vagaries of the South African legal system and the desire of both the prosecution and defense to gain a positive result on bail.
During his testimony Wednesday, Botha unraveled under cross-examination from defense attorney Barry Roux, admitting that he couldn't find anything to contradict Pistorius' claim that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. Botha also opened himself to allegations he had contaminated the crime scene by revealing he had not worn protective shoes and was forced to admit one of his witnesses, a neighbor, was more than a quarter mile away from the scene.
Yet his blundering under oath was nothing compared to the damage that Thursday's bombshell may have done to the case, with Botha's credibility as an investigator pivotal.
Alex Eliseev, the Eyewitness News journalist who broke the Botha story, told 567 The Cape radio on Thursday that he contacted Botha following the publication of the report and that the senior policeman with 24 years of experience insisted the allegations against him were false.
"[Botha] says he was involved in an absolutely legitimate case," Eliseev said. "He says they tried to pull over the taxi, they were not drunk, they shot at the wheels and tried to get it to stop. He thought the case had been withdrawn."
The bail hearing continues Thursday.
