You see, in this “society” (by which I presume you mean Western industrialized society in general since South Africa and the USA are different countries with different laws), we accept that there are different levels of punishment, depending on intent. A premeditated murder tends to be treated more harshly than a crime of passion, which is worse than negligence, which is worse than “oops, that’s not supposed to happen!”.
A couple months ago, he apparently “went into full recon mode” when he mistook his washing machine for a burgler. Maybe she was making washing machine noises?
South Africa is one of those places. He’ll be charged with murder as a matter of course.
I was responding to the comment that I quoted, which was a broad statement, not not necessarily related to this case.
As far as who he THOUGHT she was, we don’t know at this point. However, I will say that it’s not completely outside the realm of possibility he mistook her for an intruder, especially since he reportedly lived in a very high crime area (hence the gates), that it was in the middle of the night, and that he lacks the ability to fight back/hide/flee as easily as someone who has 2 permanently attached legs.
It’s possible. It’s a little hard to believe since his home sounds incredibly secure, but it could be. Parts of this should be cleared up fairly easily. If she was lying in bed and he shot her, he obviously didn’t think she was breaking in. If she was shot coming through the door or something, then maybe. The police are saying there are no signs of forced entry and in the early stages it doesn’t sound like they think this was an accident, but that should come out in time.
Claudine Longet is an actress/singer. According to Wikipedia, “She was found guilty of misdemeanor criminal negligence in the 1976 [shooting] death of her live-in boyfriend, professional skier Spider Sabich.”
Source: Claudine Longet - Wikipedia
None of us has all the evidence yet. It will come eventually.
That said, ALL of my family and friends know not to play “let’s surprise Ducati at home”.
Most of my defense-purposed guns have lights on them to help ID my target if it’s dark. You can’t swing a dead cat in my house without hitting a flashlight or three. It’s highly unlikely that I would shoot my BIL sneaking in to crash on the couch, but I realize that since I’m human, mistakes are possible. That’s why he calls about 2 minutes out, no matter what time it is. BIL: “It’s me. I’m passing Publix. Don’t shoot.” Me: “K”. Click.
Mrs. Duc came home early last week, maybe 3pm. I’m used to being here alone all day, nice and quiet. The driveway alarm went off, meaning someone has just driven in. The next one went off, meaning someone’s in the parking area near the side door. Since I always answer the door armed, I grabbed a gun in my office, and started for the den, when the door alarm dinged, meaning someone has just entered the back door.
Shit. My heart rate zoomed, and I rushed the den, only to find my wife putting her purse down and looking sheepish. “Sorry”, she said.:rolleyes:
Still, I managed not to shoot her, because I determined in about 1/40th of a second that she was not an intruder. It’s really not that hard.
***Responsible ***gun owners don’t shoot intruders until they have identified a true threat. I would consider anyone with a mask on a threat.
If indeed his girlfriend was wearing a mask or hose, or whatever, I’m afraid she has no one to blame but herself.
I’m sure it’s a complicated situation, and I’ll be interested to learn more. If he acted recklessly, he should be punished.
An analogous situation here in Atlanta was the case of Dany Heatly. Driving his Ferarri too fast for conditions, he killed his BFF. Through his negligence, he killed his friend, but got probation and a fine. Not nearly enough in my opinion.
Yeah… well, I swear I hadn’t seen anyone else make the “replicant” joke yet at the time I made it, but I guess that one was pretty obvious too.
Just to make sure we’re on the same page, I believe that’s a hypothetical or speculation and isn’t based on anything. Nobody seems to know where the ‘he thought she was a burglar’ thing came from, nevermind the idea that maybe she tried to make him think she was a burglar.
No, that’s not what I mean by “identify.” If she was appearing and behaving in such a way that he could reasonably have interpreted her to be an intruder stranger, then he’d be justified in defending himself.
But this is all academic; I have seen no reason to think that Pistorius’ action was an ‘accident’ in any sense.
Note to self: Scratch ducati’s house of the trick-or-treating route.
Well, especially because he apparently lives in some kind of post-apocalyptic “Walking Dead” wasteland or is in the Witness Protection program.
Great. Now I have to move again.
To me, an accidental shooting is: “He was cleaning/loading his gun and it went off, hitting someone.” Accidental discharge.
If he is being honest, he meant to shoot … that wasn’t the accident. The accident was misidentification. Try this on: A guy is driving through Death Valley at noon in July and it’s 125 Fahrenheit. He’s not expecting to see his girlfriend hitchhiking on the lonely road because he thinks she’s at a resort in Palm Springs swimming in a pool.
So, anyway, he doesn’t recognize her in her badly sunburned, no make-up, dirty clothes condition and swerves away, avoiding her. She dies of exposure. Is he guilty of abandoning her in the desert in the Summer to die of thirst and heat exhaustion?
Well, the story is getting worse. South African media are reporting that she was in the bathroom and he shot her four times through the door. (link)
I’m glad I live nowhere near the paranoid little universe you apparently occupy.
So, if I’m reading this right, your wife cannot walk into her own home unannounced, without being confronted by a lethal weapon. And when she does so, and she is confronted by one…she apologized. Is that a correct interpretation of the above?
Well, unless she came in through the bathroom window (someone should write a song about that), in an attempt to surprise him, it’s not looking good for Pistorius.
Sounds like it. I’m guessing she doesn’t spring many surprise parties for him!
maybe she was using up all the hot water.
Oh good. Because having tactical lights on your guns makes you seem less crazy.