Defense rests
The defense in the Pistorius case rests. The judge orders closing arguments to commence on August 7, 2014. This date will allow time for the lawyers to read through a transcript of the trial that is over 4000 pages long, covering 39 days of trial.
Lawyers criticize broadcast
Pistorius’ lawyer, Brian Webber, criticizes Australia’s Channel Seven for showing a video of Pistorius re-enacting the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Doctor: Remember he is disabled
Dr. Wayne Derman tells the court a list of difficulties that double amputees deal with daily, as his defense team builds an argument that he behaved reasonably the day his girlfriend was shot and killed in their home:
The saddest thing I have learned through my six years of working with athletes with disability is that disability never sleeps. It’s there when you go to sleep at night and it’s there when you wake up in the morning. It affects nearly every aspect of your life.
Pistorius’ lawyer, Kenny Oldwadge says there are “two Oscars,” one of whom is a global sports star and one of whom is “vulnerable” and “scared.” Using a slang for ” in trouble,” he quoted his as saying:
I am stuffed without my legs on.
Depressed and suicidal
The team of doctors who have been evaluating Pistorius’ mental health concludes that he is depressed, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and is suicidal. They also say he does not appear to have a history of abnormal aggression or psychopathic tendencies linked to “rage-type murders in intimate relations.”
Not mentally ill
A psychiatric assessment finds Pistorious was not mentally incapacitated when his girlfriend was shot and killed in their home in February, 2013. The report by a panel of independent doctors states:
Mr Pistorius was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act.
Had he been found to be mentally incapacitated at the time of the incident the trial would have ended with a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.