Pistorius granted bail
Published: 2013 February 22 14:34:01 (5219 Views)
Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail by the Pretoria Magistrate's Court following his arrest for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, last Thursday.
Magistrate Desmond Nair granted Pistorius bail when the four-day bail hearing resumed on Friday afternoon.
"The accused has made a case to be released on bail," he said.
The court had heard submissions from both the State and the defence based on the initial findings of the investigation into the crime scene.
The State argued that Pistorius had intended to kill, even if he thought he was shooting at a burglar, and should be denied bail, while the defence argued that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp, was not a flight risk, and should be granted bail.
Part of Nair's reasoning was Pistorius's having given a detailed account of his version of events (improbabilities notwithstanding).
'None of the factors for refusing bail have been established,' Nair said because the prosecution did not do enough to establish whether or not Pistorius had a house in Italy.
Had that been done, given Pistorius did not mention it, that would have been important.
'If it would evoke public outrage in any way to release Pistorius on bail, the state should have placed before me where that outrage would be,' Nair said – notwithstanding protests outside the court.
Nair also that the past incidents as discussed in court are not enough to establish a propensity towards violence though he is worried about the past threatening incidents discussed about Pistorius, including a withdrawn charge.
'The accused has shown tendencies of aggression and made threats of violence,' Nair said. 'But one should differentiate between cases and charges, and reported incidents.'
- News 24
Magistrate Desmond Nair granted Pistorius bail when the four-day bail hearing resumed on Friday afternoon.
"The accused has made a case to be released on bail," he said.
The court had heard submissions from both the State and the defence based on the initial findings of the investigation into the crime scene.
The State argued that Pistorius had intended to kill, even if he thought he was shooting at a burglar, and should be denied bail, while the defence argued that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp, was not a flight risk, and should be granted bail.
Part of Nair's reasoning was Pistorius's having given a detailed account of his version of events (improbabilities notwithstanding).
'None of the factors for refusing bail have been established,' Nair said because the prosecution did not do enough to establish whether or not Pistorius had a house in Italy.
Had that been done, given Pistorius did not mention it, that would have been important.
'If it would evoke public outrage in any way to release Pistorius on bail, the state should have placed before me where that outrage would be,' Nair said – notwithstanding protests outside the court.
Nair also that the past incidents as discussed in court are not enough to establish a propensity towards violence though he is worried about the past threatening incidents discussed about Pistorius, including a withdrawn charge.
'The accused has shown tendencies of aggression and made threats of violence,' Nair said. 'But one should differentiate between cases and charges, and reported incidents.'
- News 24
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