Prosecutors in South Africa Portray Pistorius as Self-Centered
Prosecution Portrays Self-Centered Pistorius
South African runner Oscar Pistorius returned to the witness stand in his murder trial Thursday, as prosecutors tried to portray him as self-centered in his relationship with girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel focused on the apology Pistorius made when he first began his testimony this week, saying the athlete chose to make a spectacle in the courtroom rather than apologize in private.
Jane Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp's mother is comforted by a relative after her dead daughter's picture was shown on screen during the trial of Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, April 9, 2014.
Nel: “The word 'I’m sorry I killed her' is not there. You’re sorry that you have to think of them, you’re sorry for their pain and sorrow, but you’re not sorry that you killed their daughter; it’s not in there,” said Nel.
Pistorius: “I’m terribly sorry that I took the life of their daughter, my lady.”
Nel:“Now you say that.”
Pistorius said he did not have the chance to meet with Steenkamp's family, and that he believed they would not want to talk to him.
Negligent firearm owner
Nel also brought up the three lesser firearm-related charges in the case, which involve allegations of a gun going off in a restaurant and a car, as well as illegally possessing certain ammunition.
Pistorius said his understanding was that he was not illegally in possession of the ammunition, that his finger was not on the trigger when the gun went off at the restaurant and that witnesses lied about the other incident.
Nel repeatedly accused Pistorius of not taking responsibility and being a negligent firearm owner.
Temper
The prosecutor also returned to a series of text messages that defense lawyers used during their questioning of Pistorius, including one in which Steenkamp said she was scared of Pistorius at times.
FILE - An undated portfolio photo supplied by Ice Model Management in Johannesburg of Oscar Pistorius' late girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, during a photo shoot.
Pistorius said she meant she was scared of how he reacted to things, but that he never shouted or screamed at her.
He also denied earlier testimony by his former girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, saying she lied when she told the court he had screamed at her during their relationship.
The tough cross-examination began Wednesday with Nel pressing Pistorius to take responsibility for killing Steenkamp, and telling him to look at a graphic picture of her bloodied head displayed on a monitor in the courtroom.
Prosecutors say Pistorius intentionally shot Steenkamp at his home last year. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
The athlete says he thought he was shooting an intruder when he fired shots through a locked backroom door.
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