Aufsichtsperson » evaluation at the direction of the court to determine

The Oscar Pistorius trial has resumed following a month long break. During that time, Pistorius underwent a psychiatric evaluation at the direction of the court to determine if he suffered from general anxiety disorder (GAD) at the time he killed Reeva Steenkamp. The Charges The issue being determined at trial is whether Pistorius killed Steenkamp intentionally, or as Pistorius alleges, he killed her by accident believing her to be an intruder. Form a legal standpoint, this distinction is really important since it ties into the charges faced by Pistorius. There are three possible scenarios with respect to the charges: Premeditated murder, murder and culpable homicide. Premeditated murder requires an intent to murder plus planning the murder. Premeditation is reserved for more robust planning and generally doesnt capture an intent that materialized right before a crime was committed. There was no significant planning to the crime, so premeditated murder will likely fail. Even if the prosecution cant make out premeditated murder, it can still get Pistorius on the lesser charge of murder. In order establish murder, they only need to show that he intended to kill Steenkamp (no planning element needed).Should the prosecution fail on murder, there is another lesser charge that could come into play: culpable homicide. This charge means that Pistorius negligently killed Steenkamp (or that he killed her by accident). Premeditated murder would get Pistorius a compulsory life sentence, while murder would result in a compulsory sentence of 15 years. For culpable homicide, the sentencing is discretionary (varies from fines to prison time), although its not unusual to see prison time in South Africa of 5-10 years for this type of crime. Facing very serious charges, the defence team wanted to establish that Pistorius should not go to jail because he was mentally ill when he fired those four gunshots the night of Valentines Day. And thats where GAD comes into play. General Anxiety Disorder And Diminished Capacity A defendant that suffers from a mental disorder can be found not criminally responsible on the basis that he or she could not appreciate the difference between right and wrong at the time the crime was committed. If such a finding is made, one possible outcome is the trial ends right then and there, and the defendant is committed to an institution indefinitely. In essence, it would look very much like an acquittal with ongoing psychiatric care. So if it was concluded that Pistorius had a mental disorder that made him incapable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act, the trial could have come to a very abrupt end and Pistorius could have avoided jail time. Psychiatric Finding The psychiatric report concluded that Pistorius was not mentally ill at the time he killed Steenkamp. As per the report, "at the time of the alleged offenses, the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder or mental defect that affected his ability to distinguish between the rightful or wrongful nature of his deeds". So that means the trial continues and Pistorius does not avoid prison in favour of an institution. Mental Illness No. 2: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Things didnt end with GAD. On July 2, the defence team declared that Pistorius was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and as result was suicidal. "He is...mourning the loss of Ms Steenkamp," said Barry Roux, Pistorius lawyer. "Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risks for suicide." Is this a meaningful finding with respect to exonerating Pistorius? No. This mental disorder speaks to Pistorius state of mind AFTER the murder and not before or during the act. The key is in the name of the affliction: POST-traumatic stress disorder and not PRE-traumatic stress disorder. So that means that even if it can be shown that Pistorius suffers from PTSD, his mental illness did not render him unable to appreciate the difference between right and wrong at the time of the killing since he would have only developed the illness after the crime. Accordingly, as far as being a defence to the core issue in this trial, namely that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp, its irrelevant and of no import. However, the defence team may have raised PTSD as further evidence that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp. The defence team would argue that Pistorius is distraught to the point of being suicidal because he never intended to kill Steenkamp. If he did intend to kill Steenkamp, he would not be suicidal. Of course, this argument is vulnerable to attack. Pistorius intending to kill Steenkamp is not incompatible with feeling profound remorse and guilt after the fact. Indeed, it could be argued that experiencing feelings of anguish and accountability after intentionally killing someone is not unusual in this type of circumstance. The defence team also raised PTSD so they could rely on it as a possible mitigating factor to reduce his prison time come sentencing. The idea would be that he would need ongoing psychiatric care, which could only be adequately provided in an institution outside of prison. Next Steps Once the defence has called all its witnesses, it will close its case. That should within the next week or so. After that, both parties will present their closing arguments with a view to persuading the court of their respective positions. Once closing arguments wrap up, the Court will schedule a date to announce the verdict. Following the determination of guilt, a sentencing hearing will be held where both sides will present arguments with respect to the appropriate sentence. Thereafter, Judge Masipa will hand down her sentence. At the rate the trial is proceeding, expect it to conclude sometime in mid-summer. Pistorius claims lack believability and veracity. Given the number of improbabilities in his story (as discussed here), it would not be a surprise to see Pistorius convicted of murder. Fjallraven Kanken Negozi Italia . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand. Zaino Kanken Classic Offerta .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series. http://www.fjallravenkankenitalia.it/zaino-fjallraven-kanken-classic-giallo-caldo-16l.html . Leave it to Matt Niskanen, the newly proclaimed Eddie Haskell of the Washington Capitals. Zaino Fjallraven Kanken Big Rosa-Aria Blu 20L . The photograph shows Parker and a French comedian making a gesture known in France as a "quenelle," which critics describe as inverted Nazi salute. Parker said in a statement released through the Spurs that the photograph was taken three years ago. Parker, who was born in Belgium but raised in France, said he didnt know at the time that "it could be in any way offensive or harmful. Zaino Fjallraven Kanken Mini . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying.LONDON -- Manchester Uniteds title defence faltered further as a Samuel Etoo-inspired Chelsea cast the champions further adrift from the Premier League elite with a 3-1 victory Sunday. While Chelsea stayed two points behind leader Arsenal courtesy of Etoos hat trick, seventh-place United slipped 14 points from the summit this weekend. And the gap from the Champions League places is growing as well, with Liverpool six points ahead in fourth. Tottenham is level on points with Liverpool, but behind on goal difference after beating Swansea 3-1 in Sundays other game. Changing managers has revitalized Tottenham, with Tim Sherwood collecting 16 out of 18 points since replacing Andre Villas-Boas, while David Moyes has now has overseen seven league losses this season after succeeding Alex Ferguson -- two more than last years title-winning campaign. "Its a difficult task, but (its about) perseverance and keeping doing whats right," Moyes said. "I thought we did a lot of good things today. We have players to come back, and this is a project I know that Im going to improve as it goes along. "I was hoping to win more and be competing a bit more than weve been, but thatll come." Having made a strong start, United was stunned by Chelsea going ahead against the run of play in the 17th minute. Etoo cut in from the right, swept past Phil Jones and unleashed a shot that took a heavy deflection off Michael Carricks boot before looping over goalkeeper David de Gea into the net. "They started the match better than us and they were a bit unlucky that we scored in that moment," Mourinho said. "When you are better than the opponent, you have to go and try to kill the game." United squandered a chance to level in the 38th. Adnan Januzajs cross reached Danny Welbeck in a central position but the striker couldnt produce a clean shot. Oscar then tried to double the lead with a bicycle kick that flew over from right in front of goal, and instead Chelseas second came from the boot of Etoo again. Welbeck only half cleared, Ramires seized possession and fed the ball to Hazard on the right flank. The winger then squared to the unmarked Etoo to sweep a shot into the net as halftime loomed. Uniited had little time to settle after the break before its defence was breached again and Etoo celebrated his first treble in English football.dddddddddddd Cahill headed in from Willians corner and De Gea only briefly blocked the ball before it went back out for Etoo, who got ahead of Antonio Valencia to score. United pulled one back when Jones scuffed shot was stabbed into the net by Javier Hernandez. But there was no comeback and it got worse in stoppage time when United captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off for lunging at Eden Hazard, and he now faces a three-game ban. While Moyes trudged off despondently, Mourinho was left to celebrate a 100th Premier League win out of 142 games across his two Chelsea reigns while still demanding more. "We have to improve," Mourinho said. "I want better. The first 20 minutes were not good. "I want the game to be in our control since the beginning and it was not." Tottenham was in control at Swansea and swept to a fifth win in six league games as Adebyor -- brought in from the cold under Sherwood -- took his tally to six goal in seven games under the new manager. The striker headed in his first in south Wales from Christian Eriksens cross in the 35th. Tottenham was gifted a second eight minutes into the second half when Kyle Walkers cross was steered into his own goal by Chico Flores. Adebayor was on target again in the 71st from close range after Danny Rose did the hard work on the left flank before setting up the striker. And much like United at Stamford Bridge, Swansea reducing the deficit to 3-1 couldnt spark a comeback. Wilfried Bony pulled one back in the 78th when he turned Roland Lamahs cross past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. "We know there are going to be tougher tests ahead, but its been a good start for me," Sherwood said. "If the season were to end tomorrow I dont think the chairman (Daniel Levy) would be too happy because we are fifth. "The final league position has to meet the expectation of the club otherwise its goodbye. ... The club needs to finish in fourth place, we want to finish in fourth place. Anything other than that will be a disappointment but realistically we should be in amongst it." ' ' '