This morning I had occasion to listen to the sentencing ruling in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial live as the judge delivered it. To be honest I hadn’t paid incredibly close attention to the trial as it progressed, but a close and well-informed friend of mine had brought it up over the past few weeks and piqued my interest. I’m glad he did – because had it remained off my radar screen I would have missed one of the greatest acts of justice in our time.
The devil is in the details
If all you read are headlines this story seems to be confusing. The progress of the headlines went something like this: “Athlete Arrested For Killing Girlfriend”, “Athlete Confesses To Killing Girlfriend”, “Athlete Not Guilty Of Murder”, “Athlete Gets 5 Years For Killing Girlfriend”. On that tweetable level it seems like the story took a very wrong turn. Up until my friend got me more interested in the case (which happened the same time “Athlete Not Guilty” was going to press) all I knew was the headlines. Judging by the type of comments I am seeing on-line as the news is spreading – I think that’s all a lot of people know.
What happens when you read past the headline is you find a story that is much more complex than it first appears. Because while all those statements are factual, they ignore so much of what took place that I would consider them untrue. Yes, Oscar Pistorius did shoot and kill Reeva Steenkamp. Yes he confessed to the killing. However, he claims that he believed there was an intruder in his home and he was defending himself and the very woman it turns out he shot. Now I know there are many people who don’t believe his story on that aspect of the case, but the one person whose opinion counts (Judge Masipa) did. As she had all the evidence in front of her, and the rest of us do not, I have to defer to her judgement on the matter. Based on that evidence Judge Masipa found that a charge of murder was not supported, and instead found Pistorius guilty of Culpable Homicide (Manslaughter).
And then came the sentence
The judge took a long time explaining her reasoning before handing down her ruling, and I for one was glad that she did. Selfishly I was glad because having not followed the case closely enough in the early days, the long explanation did a good job of bringing me up to speed on the details of the case. From a broader point of view, hearing the judge give such detail provided a beautiful picture of justice. While a headline of “Athlete Gets 5 Years For Killing Girlfriend” might enrage the average reader; after listening to the judge I was not only prepared for her sentence, but satisfied that justice has been served.
All the factors
One of the things Judge Masipa did when announcing her sentence was, repeatedly, explain that there were a number of factors to be considered in sentencing. That headline, which has caused no shortage of outrage on-line, deals with only one factor: the crime. Judge Masipa made it clear that in sentencing the court has to consider 3 major factors; the crime, the criminal and the good to society. The crime in this case was the killing of a woman, although recall that the judge ruled it to be a case of manslaughter not murder. The criminal is the next factor; and in this case the criminal was a man with no prior record, who showed incredible remorse for his crime and in the court’s opinion was little risk to re-offend. Now I know there are accusations that his remorse was an act, but once again since I wasn’t in the courtroom and I don’t have all the evidence I am compelled to defer to the judge. The final factor is the good to society. The judge made it very clear that this case had broader implications than just one man killing one woman. She said that society demands a punishment for a life taken.
You see depending on which perspective you approach this, or any, case from; you can see a vastly different picture. Those who approach the case from the side of the crime are outraged. A woman died and the man who killed her was sentenced to only 5 years. Those who approach the case from the side of the criminal may feel it was too harsh. It was reckless to be sure, but his intent was not to kill her and he’s considered to be little risk to reoffend. Those who approach the case from the side of society, I think, will feel that on balance justice was served. On the one hand a life was taken so a punishment is deserved, but on the other hand since the criminal is not a continuing danger to society locking him and throwing away the key is neither just nor economical. Furthermore, as the judge rightly pointed out, there was nothing she could do to bring Steenkamp back.
The M factor
After all this, there was one more factor to be considered. Judge Masipa made it very clear that in addition to considering the 3 factors for a just decision, the consideration of mercy was also on her mind. This perhaps explains why the sentence was significantly shorter than some had expected. Of course it is worth remembering that had the judge not accepted Pistorius’s version of events and found him guilty of murder the sentence likely would have been longer. But even for culpable homicide, South Africa’s equivalent to our crime of manslaughter, there is a maximum penalty of 15 years. Interestingly, there is actually no requirement for imprisonment in a conviction of culpable homicide. The judge’s own words best explain how she reached her judgement.
I am of the view that a non-custodial sentence would send a wrong message to the community, On the other hand, a long sentence would not be appropriate either, as it would lack the element of mercy.
It is in this statement that I find a beautiful union of justice and mercy. Yes, a promising young woman died and justice demands a punishment for that crime. But in the sentence we still see mercy. Mercy is something I have struggled with, and I think that I am not alone. Our senses of justice are all more finely tuned than our senses of mercy. Today I was glad to be given a lesson by Judge Thokozile Masipa in how the two can exist together.
Blessed are the merciful – Jesus
Kingdom Dialogues 