The tension during the cross-examination of prosecutor Gerrie Nel quickly escalated when he showed a photograph of Reeva Steenkamp's head wound to accused killer and boyfriend Oscar Pistorius and the High Court in Pretoria today. Bloomberg said that the head wound was also inadvertently broadcasted live on television, as the court has permitted local television cameras to document one of the most high-profile cases to date.
In the beginning of his cross-examination of Pistorius, of whom his defense lawyers had put him up on the stand as a witness, urged the Paralympic athlete to look at the photograph. Bloomberg said the 27 year-old has since pleaded not guilty to murdering his late girlfriend, who was fatally shot by him on Valentine's Day last year when he allegedly mistook her for a burglar at his home.
Nel said while showing the photo to Pistorius, "That's it, have a look there, I know you don't want to because you don't want to take responsibility, but it's time that you look at it. Take responsibility for what you've done, Mr. Pistorius."
The athlete refused to look at the photo and rebutted Nel's statement while looking at the presiding judge and said that he knows what he has been saying in court and that he acknowledges that his life is on the line.
"Reeva doesn't have a life anymore because of what you've done. She's not alive anymore. So please listen to the questions and give us the truth and not think of the implications for you, Mr. Pistorius," Nel responded.
Bloomberg said that judge Thokozile Masipa will be issuing a final judgement in Pistorius' case as there is no jury system in the African country. The news agency added that should Masipa take kindly on Pistorius, she might hand out a lesser charge of culpable homicide. The known "Blade Runner" is currently free on a 1 million rand or $96,000 bail beginning February last year.
On the other hand, Associate Professor James Grant, of Criminal Law at Wits University in Johannesburg said that the prosecutors were successful of overturning the defense team's positive image of the athlete. He told Bloomberg over the phone, "Every little bit that was achieved by the stories of what a good Samaritan Oscar was and how he loves animals and of him being a good Christian, any good that had, was beyond reversed by the approach that Nel took in equating him firing at a watermelon to what he did to Reeva."
