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Pistorius Stumbled With His Testimony, Experts Say

April 15, 2014 by  

Pistorius Stumbled With His Testimony, Experts Say, Oscar Pistorius’ testimony may have tripped up his defense, legal experts told ABC News today after the Blade Runner finished seven days on the witness stand, including five rough days of cross examination.

Several defense lawyers said that all of Pistorius’ tears and emotional breakdowns on the stand will not overcome doubts in his story raised by prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

Pistorius, 27, is accused of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and three other gun related charges. In his plea explanation he said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.

“His demeanor and antics .. did him more harm than good,” said attorney Anton Smith. “It seemed at stages, as Nel stated, that Oscar Pistorius might have tailored his evidence during cross-examination. Also, during cross by Nel, a lot of questions were either left unanswered or evaded by Pistorius.”

Lawyer Henk Louw agreed that Pistorius’ demeanor and the discrepancies between his testimony in recent days and his bail application affidavit last year and his plea explanation at the start of the trial could count against him as “these factors all contribute to a credibility finding. The credibility of a witness, together with the evidence before the court, all play a role when the judge comes to a conclusion.”

Among the discrepancies, Pistorius told the court that Steenkamp was awake moments before the shooting. That information was not mentioned in a statement by the athlete during his bail application last year.

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