BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The judge in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has ruled that proceedings will adjourn for more than two weeks after Thursday and resume on May the 5th. The announcement was made on Wednesday, after five days of relentless cross-examination that left Pistorius quivering, sobbing and fumbling. As more details of the killing start coming out, more attention has also been drawn to how Pistorius behaved in court.
Oscar Pistorius endured a brutal seven-day session on the witness stand that included five days of fierce cross-examination. Millions around the world consumed his every word and it allowed viewers to come to their own conclusions as to what exactly happened on that tragic night when Pistorius shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. One of the notable aspects of Pistorius’ evidence was the way he verbally sparred with lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel, but some felt that was possibly a dangerous line for him to take.
"The best way to answer in court is to just be frank. And the mistake that Oscar is making is that he doesn’t realize that the more he says the more questions he is opening himself up to. The prosecutor already knows where he is going. He’s anticipated how Oscar is going to answer. He sized him up already. And so, as Oscar tries to show himself to be cleverer than the prosecutor, he is actually falling into the very trap that the prosecutor is laying for him." Psychologist Leonard Carr said.
Dr. van Niekerk is a specialized Sports Psychologist, he feels the reason for Pistorius’ battles with Nel can be explained by his background as an elite athlete.
"He is a sports person so he knows the sports contest very well. He’s been competing for almost the most part of his life. So all of his skills and everything he knows about how life works and how to conduct himself in situations will be learnt on the sports field. So I am not surprised that he is going into combat mode in that sense. He is now picking the fight. He wants to dominate this process. He hates submission. Psychologically, he is fighting for his life." Dr. van Niekerk said.
Some observers have questioned Pistorius’ authenticity in court. Why is he able to remember certain aspects of the evening and not others? Why are some of his replies long winded or delayed? But van Niekerk feels that is again down to his sporting background.
"He is now focussing on the outcome of this event. For athletes that is not good. If you focus on your outcome goals all the time. Your mind is not in the moment. Your mind tends to leave to the end of the event. And that will make you anxious. That will chip away your confidence. It will also become a distraction from what you should be focussing on. Of course your mind leaves the here and now and you start worrying about the end." Dr. van Niekerk said. 、
Pistorius’ emotional state has also been the subject of much debate. The athlete broke down in floods of tears when graphic images of the bloodied scene were shown in court. Nel told the court that Pistorius was using his emotional state to escape answering his questions. But that may turn out to be wide of the mark.
"The breaking down is also part of experiencing a dramatic event. And every time there is a graphic detail or there is talk about that moment where he walks with her it reminds him, it triggers that event he was in. It recreates that emotional experience for him. So it is very difficult to judge，because we don’t have access to the mind of the person so we don’t know what that it. But the breaking down I can see every time there is a trigger effect for the post traumatic stress." Dr. van Niekerk said.
But of course, in the end the only opinions that will matter will be that of the judge and her two assessors. It will be up to them to determine Oscar Pistorius’ authenticity and then to decide his fate.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
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