Oscar Pistorius's Case Study

Fear can cause you to kill. South Africa’s paralympic and olympic athlete known as “blade runner” gold medalist, Oscar Pistorius twenty-nine years old, kills law graduate and model who was his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the morning of February 14th 2013. Oscar claims that he killed his girlfriend by mistake because he thought there was an intruder in his bathroom who put Reeva and Oscar’s life at danger. The court argues weather Oscar shoots at the bathroom door because he thought there was an intruder who was threatening his life or whether he deliberately murders his girlfriend Reeva. Pistorius was found guilty for culpable homicide, South African law which is described as; actions which led to the death of an individual but not with the intend of murder. Throughout the court case Pistorius claims that he was suffering from anxiety disorder but his psychiatric examination prove that he is sane a person and does not suffer any mental illness, which could not argue against the case in Pistorius favor. Investigation prove that “both reports found that Pistorius did not suffer from a mental defect that would make him

Arguing the reasons why people do the things they do, comes from their mental state. Human development throughout their lifetime leads to the choices they make in the future. If a person has had a troubled childhood it is most likely that they would grow into a troubled adult which leads to a vicious cycle, as this adult would be be a troubled parent too. Regarding the Oscar Pistorius trial he claims that he suffers from anxiety disorder which makes him impulsive to his fears, but reports prove that Oscar does not suffer from any mental illness. Examining mental state, emotions and the development of the accused is just as important as the physical evidence of the crime scene. The importance of clinical psychologist can determine the outcome of a trial and sentencing of the