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| Final Arguments in Pistorius Murder Trial Begin | Final Arguments in Pistorius Murder Trial Begin |
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| PRETORIA, South Africa — The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter accused of killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage, entered a decisive stage on Thursday as lawyers for the defense and prosecution began two days of final oral arguments at the High Court here before handing over the case to the presiding judge. | PRETORIA, South Africa — The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter accused of killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage, entered a decisive stage on Thursday as lawyers for the defense and prosecution began two days of final oral arguments at the High Court here before handing over the case to the presiding judge. |
| Both sides are scheduled to summarize the arguments they have delivered over a sensational, five-month courtroom drama that has been compared by some to the O.J. Simpson trial and by others to high-profile soap opera. They are also expected to field questions from Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, who has so far provided few hints about her thinking. | Both sides are scheduled to summarize the arguments they have delivered over a sensational, five-month courtroom drama that has been compared by some to the O.J. Simpson trial and by others to high-profile soap opera. They are also expected to field questions from Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, who has so far provided few hints about her thinking. |
| Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Pistorius, 27, fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, after an argument on Feb. 14, 2013, inside his home here in Pretoria, the capital. The defense team has argued that Mr. Pistorius shot her through a locked bathroom door in the mistaken belief that an intruder had entered his home. | Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Pistorius, 27, fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, after an argument on Feb. 14, 2013, inside his home here in Pretoria, the capital. The defense team has argued that Mr. Pistorius shot her through a locked bathroom door in the mistaken belief that an intruder had entered his home. |
| Judge Masipa, with the assistance of two assessors, will decide the case, because South Africa does not have a jury system. Judges can take weeks or months to deliver their rulings in such cases, though some experts say that Judge Masipa may arrive at a decision sooner because of the many delays in this trial. | Judge Masipa, with the assistance of two assessors, will decide the case, because South Africa does not have a jury system. Judges can take weeks or months to deliver their rulings in such cases, though some experts say that Judge Masipa may arrive at a decision sooner because of the many delays in this trial. |
| A key issue for her to resolve, South African legal experts said, is whether the months of hearings have left a reasonable doubt about Mr. Pistorius’s intentions as, by his own admission, he approached the bathroom door, walking on his stumps without prostheses, firing four rounds from a hand-gun. Three of them struck Ms. Steenkamp. | |
| If convicted of premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius could face a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison. | If convicted of premeditated murder, Mr. Pistorius could face a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison. |
| Scrutinized in its every twist on social media, the case has drawn huge interest in the spectacle of a man who once ranked among the world’s fastest sprinters — nicknamed Blade Runner for the scythe-like prostheses he used in competition — facing his accusers. | Scrutinized in its every twist on social media, the case has drawn huge interest in the spectacle of a man who once ranked among the world’s fastest sprinters — nicknamed Blade Runner for the scythe-like prostheses he used in competition — facing his accusers. |
| The killing came months after Mr. Pistorius made headlines in another way, competing against able-bodied as well as disabled athletes at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. | The killing came months after Mr. Pistorius made headlines in another way, competing against able-bodied as well as disabled athletes at the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. |
| Police officers, forensics experts, specialists in mental health, friends and former associates have all taken the stand — as has Mr. Pistorius himself — in the course of the oft-delayed trial, which was initially set to take three weeks. | Police officers, forensics experts, specialists in mental health, friends and former associates have all taken the stand — as has Mr. Pistorius himself — in the course of the oft-delayed trial, which was initially set to take three weeks. |
| While the prosecution has depicted him as trigger-happy, mendacious,egotistical and easily enraged, Mr. Pistorius, usually wearing a dark suit and tie, has at times appeared to be deeply affected by the proceedings, sometimes weeping and retching into a bucket as he recalled the night of the killing. At one point the trial was adjourned for a month while Mr. Pistorius underwent psychiatric assessment after a defense witness said he suffered from generalized anxiety disorder. | While the prosecution has depicted him as trigger-happy, mendacious,egotistical and easily enraged, Mr. Pistorius, usually wearing a dark suit and tie, has at times appeared to be deeply affected by the proceedings, sometimes weeping and retching into a bucket as he recalled the night of the killing. At one point the trial was adjourned for a month while Mr. Pistorius underwent psychiatric assessment after a defense witness said he suffered from generalized anxiety disorder. |
| The mental health specialists who examined him found no reason for his trial not to continue. | The mental health specialists who examined him found no reason for his trial not to continue. |
| In addition to the murder charge, Mr. Pistorius has also pleaded not guilty to three other charges related to firearms. As the final days of legal argument approached, Mr. Pistorius became embroiled in controversy outside the courtroom, South African news reports said, when he was pushed to the ground in disputed circumstances after an altercation in a nightclub. | |
| As the 40th day of hearings got underway on Thursday, Gerrie Nel, the state prosecutor whose tenacity has earned him the nickname the Pit Bull, began by saying that the defense had offered two irreconcilable versions of events on the night of the killing. | |
| Mr. Nel said, the defense had argued that Mr. Pistorius acted in “putative self-defense,” fearing there was an intruder in the house. But, Mr. Pistorius also asserted that he acted without thinking, depicting the shooting as an involuntary action. | |
| “It’s either one or the other,” Mr. Nel said. | |
| He described Mr. Pistorius as a “deceitful witness” whose version of events was “devoid of any truth.” Using a comparison to a relay race, Mr. Nel said Mr. Pistorius had had a chance to start the trial with the “baton of truth,” but had dropped it. | |
| “He always places the blame for his actions somewhere else,” Mr. Nel said. |