Now that South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has not only been convicted of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp but has been sentenced to five years in prison(by a black woman judge no less- things have certainly changed in South Africa since the bad old days of apartheid!), what lessons do we draw from this "trial of the century"?
Firstly the judge correctly rejected defence pleas that Pistorius should get a"free pass" from jail based on his physical disability(and presumably on his fame as Paralympic contestant and his wealth although he claims to be virtually destitute due to legal fees).
Secondly, given that South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape and other forms of violence against women in the known world, the judge sent a message to other abusers that there will be "zero tolerance" for it.
Anybody else think as I do?
Terry
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