It’s people like Oscar Pistorius who paint Valentine’s Day red for everyone, though not in the traditional sense. The South African Olympic sprinter has been all over international headlines since Thursday night, and a dead girlfriend and a blood-covered cricket bat don’t exactly make me think “true love.”
It’s too bad he stopped and put on his prosthetic legs – the source of his athletic fame, really – before allegedly firing the gun that killed his girlfriend, former model, Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius said he thought he was shooting an intruder and that when he realized Steenkamp was not in bed with him, he got up and kicked the bathroom door down to save her.
However, the more common belief is that he put his legs on first, crossed the room and fired the gun four times into the bathroom, shooting his girlfriend. Romantic, huh?
The hottest twist to this Valentine’s Day blood and guts thriller is Pistorius’s latest version of the story, where he knocks the door down with a cricket bat, rather than kicking it down with one of the famous “Blades” that have earned him the name “Bladerunner” on the track.
If this is what actually transpired that night, then Pistorius stood outside the bathroom door on the stumps of his amputated legs, hammering into the door with a cricket bat, screaming for help. Not exactly the typical kind of kinky role-playing other lovers delve into on Valentine’s Day.
The prosecution prefers the version of Pistorius standing and firing the gun into the door with the intent of hurting his girlfriend after a heated argument.
The prosecution says the fact that he had his prosthetic legs on implies that he put thought into his actions, and therefore the charge should be premeditated murder. They also contend that a burglar would not lock himself in a bathroom in the first place, so Pistorius’s defense won’t stand in court – for lack of a better phrase.
The allegation of premeditated murder has made it difficult for Pistorius to be released on bail, which is only granted where “exceptional circumstances” exist. Gee, it’s too bad that not having either of his legs doesn’t qualify as “exceptional” in the South African court.
The court system in South Africa is radically different from that in the U.S.. Pistorius will not have a jury, because in the South African court system, a judge hears the whole case in trial and then determines the sentence of the defendant with the guidance of two civilian advisers.
Judges are not bound by their advisers’ thoughts, which means Bladerunner’s fate ultimately lies in the hands of the judge alone. Hopefully Pistorius can woo the judge more successfully than he could with Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, or the future of South African sprinting might suffer a major loss.
Pistorius said, “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.” I think in this case, the prosecution will be “able” because of the disabilities Pistorius has. His prosthetics have really given them a leg up in proving premeditated murder and sentencing him to life in prison.
Paige Pelonis is a sophomore journalism and international studies major and the assistant opinions editor for The Daily 49er.