Monday, August 19, 2013

Oscar Pistorius: 100 Witnesses Due At Trial

    

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius will go on trial in March over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a judge has decided.
Pistorius returned to Pretoria Magistrates' Court this morning for the short hearing, in which a judge set his trial date for March 3 next year.
The judge asked him if he was well, to which he replied: "Under the circumstances, your honour."
He was formally charged and told that his bail conditions remained the same.
Court documents show that more than 100 witnesses will be called to give evidence at the trial, including one of Pistorius' ex-girlfriends.The 26-year-old double amputee is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp, who would have turned 30 today, in a shooting incident at Pistorius' home in February.
Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

The case was sent to the High Court in Pretoria.
A judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the world-famous athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.
The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

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