The Judge Rules on Terms of Oscar’s Evaluation
Ardent Oscar opponents may yet be granted their wish for him to be locked up and the key thrown away. The Olympian athlete with carbon-fibre prosthetics, who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013, begins his court-ordered mental health evaluation next week. This ruling follows earlier testimony by forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryll Vorster […]
Ardent Oscar opponents may yet be granted their wish for him to be locked up and the key thrown away.
The Olympian athlete with carbon-fibre prosthetics, who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013, begins his court-ordered mental health evaluation next week.
This ruling follows earlier testimony by forensic psychiatrist Dr Merryll Vorster – an expert witness for the defence – that he may suffer from General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
Just before 10am this morning, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that Oscar must present himself as an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria at 9am on Monday, May 26, to determine “whether the accused by reason of mental illness or mental defect was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible for the offence he is charged and whether he was capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act.”
Each weekday he will arrive at the facility at 9h00 and remain there until 16h00 for a period of no more than 30 days.
A specialist team of psychiatrists and psychologists, whose names were read out by the judge, will make up the panel of experts in charge of the evaluation. Among the panel will be Dr Leon Fine, appointed by the defence to represent Oscar.
From my understanding of opinions expressed by various experts on the subject, the assessment will seek to find whether Oscar was of sound mind when he shot and killed Reeva and/or during court proceedings. If it is found that he didn’t know right from wrong, it could result in his referral as a state patient to a state mental health establishment.
Such a finding would signal the end of the trial and Oscar’s incarceration could be worse than a guilty verdict. If he is able to stand trial and is found guilty of premeditated murder, Oscar will face at least 25 years.
However, if the Weskoppies’ panel finds he has a mental disorder, it could in extreme circumstances mean Oscar spends the rest of his life in a state mental health institution.
Court will reconvene on June 30.
Update/Footnote: Acknowledging a reader’s query, Suzanne Brenner has added in her story that her statements are based on her understanding of expert opinions. As an addendum, she adds that her interest in the trial was ignited by live TV broadcasts on DSTV Channel 199 where there are daily discussions among panels of legal, procedural and media specialists. Suzanne also follows experts in their fields on Twitter and other media.