So Kate and Willy are wrapping up their 3 week "holiday" by visiting the outback in Australia? It must be nice to have no job, an unlimited expense account, and have millions of groupies the world over swoon in anticipation if and when a blue blood manages to knock up his old lady. Throw in the universal red-carpet treatment -- and this is a really sweet gig.
Some dropout loser type dude suffered head trauma after getting beat up while leaving a karaoke bar. Then somehow the "experts" say his brain overcompensated while healing and accessed areas that very few humans have ever been able to do. Now, he's considered a mathematical genius. He sees things that are far beyond the comprehension of us every day hoi polloi. Well gee. During my younger, wilder years, yours truly was hit in the head a lot of times. So how come I'm still an idiot? Doesn't seem fair.
The Oscar Pistorius murder trial in South Africa continues to drag on -- and on -- and on. The judge that will eventually decide his fate has seen all the forensic evidence, and heard all the testimony, including Oscar himself taking the witness stand and being examined and grilled on cross-examination for several days.
Acccounts of what others think they may have heard are irrelevant. So too, are character witnesses, both pro and con. And anything that happened in Oscar's or Reeva Steenkamp's past matters not one whit. The only thing that counts is what happened on Valentine's day in 2013 when shots were fired through a bathroom door by Pistorius, which resulted in Steenkamp being fatally wounded.
The prosecution paints the scenario that Oscar knew Reeva was behind that door and willfully murdered her. Pistorius claims that, suspecting an intruder in violent crime-ridden South Africa, he fired in fear for his life.
Where does the actual truth lie? Only Oscar Pistorius knows for sure.
Lawyers for both sides have attempted to "spin" things in their favor and, lord knows, the arm-chair public has certainly chimed in with their two cents worth. And now the trial has been mysteriously adjourned for a few weeks, for reasons unclear.
This has gone on way too long already. Time for the Honorable Thokozile Masipa to get her butt back on the bench and make the call. Either way, some will be happy, some will not, and that's just the way it goes. But it's one defendant, and one judge that has seen and heard everything of relevance she needs to hand down her verdict. Nothing's going to change while the trial is put on hold. It was what it was, and remains what it is. So get on with it already. And let's get real. If Oscar is found innocent, he walks. If found guilty, the appeals will likely drag on for years.
Masipa is a judge on what's known as a High Court in South Africa. In America, this would be the same level of court that tries most felony cases. Above that is the Supreme Court of Appeals, similar to American appellate courts. The final judicial say-so in South Africa rests with their Constitutional Court, akin to the Supreme Court in the US. Given somewhat similar legal systems, last time I looked, even if a defendant if found guilty, a high-profile case such as the Pistorius affair will certainly not be a done deal at the level of the trial court. The appeals process could well take many years before a final judgement in rendered.
But for now, c'mon Judge. It's time to make the call. We'll worry about the replays later......
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