A look at the justice system in South Africa and what OscarPistorius faces after the double-amputee Olympic athlete wascharged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shootingdeath of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp:
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THE BAIL HEARING
The bail hearing in the Pistorius case represents a mini-trialto determine if he will remain in custody until a trial or can befreed with conditions. Defense lawyers offered written statementsfrom the athlete and his friends to state their case. By offeringthe affidavits, the defense was able to enter the evidence withouthaving to put their emotional client, who has broken down weeping anumber of times in court, on the stand. Prosecutors offered theirown version of events and called the lead police investigator,Detective Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, to give testimony. But byputting Botha on the stand, they opened him up to detailedcross-examination by Pistorius' lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux.Botha has since been dropped from the case.
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DECIDING BAIL
Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements in South Africanlaw after the judge agreed with the prosecution's premeditatedmurder charge for the purposes of bail. Pistorius' lawyers mustprove there is an ''exceptional'' reason to have him freed beforetrial. They also have to show that he doesn't represent a flightrisk, that he will not intimidate witnesses and that he won'tcommit acts of violence or encourage others to do so. If ChiefMagistrate Desmond Nair decides Pistorius might violate any ofthose terms, he can order him held until trial. If bail is denied,Pistorius can immediately appeal to a higher court. Pistorius iscurrently being held in Pretoria's Brooklyn police station, butthose denied bail typically go to a prison.
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JUSTICE IN SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is one of just a few countries in the world thatthat has a court system that takes root in Roman-Dutch law. Becauseof this, those appearing in criminal trials do not have the optionof a jury trial, which is common in the United States and othercountries. Instead, a single judge will hear the entire case andthen rule on a person's guilt or innocence. The judge can beassisted by two advisers during the trial. Those advisers generallyoffer assistance in looking at the more technical aspects of theevidence given at trial. If found guilty, a person can later appealthe ruling or the sentence they receive.
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THE PENALTIES
Premeditated murder, which Pistorius is charged with, can carrya sentence of life in prison. There is no death penalty in SouthAfrica. A lesser murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years tolife. Pistorius could still see his charge downgraded to culpablehomicide, meaning that he unintentionally killed Steenkamp, whichis what he maintains. A conviction on that charge carries much lesstime in prison.
