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The Oscar Pistorius trial has resumed following a month long break. During that time, Pistorius underwent a psychiatric evaluation at the direction of the court to determine if he suffered from general anxiety disorder (GAD) at the time he killed Reeva Steenkamp. The Charges The issue being determined at trial is whether Pistorius killed Steenkamp intentionally, or as Pistorius alleges, he killed her by accident believing her to be an intruder. Form a legal standpoint, this distinction is really important since it ties into the charges faced by Pistorius. There are three possible scenarios with respect to the charges: Premeditated murder, murder and culpable homicide. Premeditated murder requires an intent to murder plus planning the murder. Premeditation is reserved for more robust planning and generally doesnt capture an intent that materialized right before a crime was committed. There was no significant planning to the crime, so premeditated murder will likely fail. Even if the prosecution cant make out premeditated murder, it can still get Pistorius on the lesser charge of murder. In order establish murder, they only need to show that he intended to kill Steenkamp (no planning element needed).Should the prosecution fail on murder, there is another lesser charge that could come into play: culpable homicide. This charge means that Pistorius negligently killed Steenkamp (or that he killed her by accident). Premeditated murder would get Pistorius a compulsory life sentence, while murder would result in a compulsory sentence of 15 years. For culpable homicide, the sentencing is discretionary (varies from fines to prison time), although its not unusual to see prison time in South Africa of 5-10 years for this type of crime. Facing very serious charges, the defence team wanted to establish that Pistorius should not go to jail because he was mentally ill when he fired those four gunshots the night of Valentines Day. And thats where GAD comes into play. General Anxiety Disorder And Diminished Capacity A defendant that suffers from a mental disorder can be found not criminally responsible on the basis that he or she could not appreciate the difference between right and wrong at the time the crime was committed. If such a finding is made, one possible outcome is the trial ends right then and there, and the defendant is committed to an institution indefinitely. In essence, it would look very much like an acquittal with ongoing psychiatric care. So if it was concluded that Pistorius had a mental disorder that made him incapable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act, the trial could have come to a very abrupt end and Pistorius could have avoided jail time. Psychiatric Finding The psychiatric report concluded that Pistorius was not mentally ill at the time he killed Steenkamp. As per the report, "at the time of the alleged offenses, the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder or mental defect that affected his ability to distinguish between the rightful or wrongful nature of his deeds". So that means the trial continues and Pistorius does not avoid prison in favour of an institution. Mental Illness No. 2: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Things didnt end with GAD. On July 2, the defence team declared that Pistorius was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and as result was suicidal. "He is...mourning the loss of Ms Steenkamp," said Barry Roux, Pistorius lawyer. "Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risks for suicide." Is this a meaningful finding with respect to exonerating Pistorius? No. This mental disorder speaks to Pistorius state of mind AFTER the murder and not before or during the act. The key is in the name of the affliction: POST-traumatic stress disorder and not PRE-traumatic stress disorder. So that means that even if it can be shown that Pistorius suffers from PTSD, his mental illness did not render him unable to appreciate the difference between right and wrong at the time of the killing since he would have only developed the illness after the crime. Accordingly, as far as being a defence to the core issue in this trial, namely that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp, its irrelevant and of no import. However, the defence team may have raised PTSD as further evidence that Pistorius did not intend to kill Steenkamp. The defence team would argue that Pistorius is distraught to the point of being suicidal because he never intended to kill Steenkamp. If he did intend to kill Steenkamp, he would not be suicidal. Of course, this argument is vulnerable to attack. Pistorius intending to kill Steenkamp is not incompatible with feeling profound remorse and guilt after the fact. Indeed, it could be argued that experiencing feelings of anguish and accountability after intentionally killing someone is not unusual in this type of circumstance. The defence team also raised PTSD so they could rely on it as a possible mitigating factor to reduce his prison time come sentencing. The idea would be that he would need ongoing psychiatric care, which could only be adequately provided in an institution outside of prison. Next Steps Once the defence has called all its witnesses, it will close its case. That should within the next week or so. After that, both parties will present their closing arguments with a view to persuading the court of their respective positions. Once closing arguments wrap up, the Court will schedule a date to announce the verdict. Following the determination of guilt, a sentencing hearing will be held where both sides will present arguments with respect to the appropriate sentence. Thereafter, Judge Masipa will hand down her sentence. At the rate the trial is proceeding, expect it to conclude sometime in mid-summer. Pistorius claims lack believability and veracity. Given the number of improbabilities in his story (as discussed here), it would not be a surprise to see Pistorius convicted of murder. Custom Minnesota Twins Nike Jerseys . Bjoerndalen broke the record he shared with cross-country skiing great Bjoern Daehlie, also matching his fellow Norwegians record of eight gold medals. Bjoerndalen earlier won gold in Sochi in the mens sprint biathlon. Custom Atlanta Braves Nike Jerseys . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/. 2015 Oscar nomination pending. 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