Prosecutors and lawyers for Oscar Pistorius get their last chance to pled their case this week as closing arguments will be heard for the murder his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
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On Thursday and Friday, the defense and the prosecutors will have their chance to plead their case to judge Thokozile Masipa before she makes his final decision on the fate of Pistorius. Both sides believe that once they start to plead their case, Masipa will show where she is leaning for the first time in the case.
''The judge will show where her allegiance lies once she starts asking questions,'' said Marius du Toit, a former prosecutor and now defense lawyer who is not involved in the trial. ''The party that gets hammered by the judge when arguing is the party that's got the short end of the stick when it comes to the ruling.’’
Over the span of the four-month trial, Masipa has been a voice on neutrality and hasn't given the slightest hint as to where she sides, if she has made a decision at all, yet.
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''Now the judge's true colors will in fact be shown,'' said John Welch, a former high-ranking lawyer with South Africa's national prosecutors' office. ''Many judges like to ask questions ... things that have bugged them or bothered them during the trial.’'
Summarizing each sides claim, the prosecution says Pistorius, 27, intentionally shot 29-year-old Steenkamp multiple times before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 in a fit of anger after a fight. The defense counters that he fired by mistake, fearing for his life after thinking an intruder was in the toilet cubicle and Steenkamp was in the bedroom.
The double-amputee Olympic runner faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder and will face lesser chargers for the death of Steenkamp if he is found not guilty.
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