Q3 LK Englisch Kursarbeit unter Abiturbedingungen Vorschlag B 2016-17 VR
1. Summarize the newspaper article. (30BE)
2. ExplainJohn Carlin’s statement “His cataclysmic fall was a metaphor for broader disappointed dreams”. (40 BE)
3. Writea letter to the editor in which you state your opinion on Pistorius’ six-year sentence. (30 BE)
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to six years in jail for Reeva Steenkamp murder
Former South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete sentenced after shooting dead his girlfriend at his home
Jason Burkein Pretoria, Wednesday 6 July 201611.04BST
Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, by firing four bullets through a closed toilet door, has been sentenced to six years in prison– less than expected.The sentence, given by Judge Thokozile Masipa in the high court in Pretoria, may be the final chapter in a story that attracted intense worldwide attention.
Pistorius, who gained global fame when he reached the semi-finals of the 200m sprint atthe 2012 Olympicsin London, was taken down to cells immediately after the sentencing at 10.30am on Wednesday.The former athlete showed little emotion, but looked relieved. His family made no immediate statement.The sentence was much lower than many had expected and public prosecutors had demanded the mandatory minimum for murder of 15 years.
Campaigners for women’s rights in South Africa expressed disappointment.“The judgment is an insult to women. It sends the wrong message,” said Jacqui Mofokeng of the African National Congress women’s league, who has attended much of the trial and was in court on Wednesday.
Pistorius, 29, was initially convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison for shooting Reeva Steenkamp, a law graduate and model, at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013.After an appeal by state prosecutors he was convicted of murder last year, a crime which carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years.
Prosecutors had called for the mandatory minimum, saying that a message needed to be sent in a country with extremely high levels of violent crime, often involving firearms. Defence lawyers had argued that a non-custodial sentence – such as community service – would be most appropriate.
In an hour-long judgment, Masipa said the evidence she had heard convinced her Pistorius was “not a violent person”, was unlikely to reoffend and had shown remorse.The judge said she had to balance the interests of society, the accused and relatives of the victim.Pistorius, she said, was “a fallen hero, who has lost his career, and been ruined financially. He cannot be at peace.”
Pistorius, who became the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics in 2012, was a hero to many in South Africa and across the world. He landed a series of lucrative sponsorship deals with leading brands, and was labelled the “blade runner”, a reference to the carbon-fibre prosthetics he used to compete.
But the fairytale story of tenacity and talent overcoming disability ended abruptly in the early hours of 14 February 2013, when Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was 11 months old, shot Steenkamp dead with a 9mm handgun.
In court on Wednesday, Masipa described Steenkamp as “young, vivacious, full of life and hopes for the future”.Pistorius has always denied deliberately shooting Steenkamp, claiming that he believed a burglar was hiding in the toilet in his home. The state prosecutor said he killed Steenkamp in a jealous rage:
“I cannot think of a more excessive use of a firearm than … firing four shots through that doorway. Murder remains the most reprehensible crime … Society demands that appropriate sentences be imposed.”
The killing and the trial also held a mirror to South Africa more than 20 years after the end of apartheid and the coming of democracy amid widespread disillusionment at a perceived failure to achieve the lofty goals of that time.
“In the same way that [Nelson] Mandela was the symbol of the country in the glorious years of generosity and pragmatism and all those good things, Pistorius … was a national icon of whom everyone was proud. His cataclysmic fall was a metaphor for broader disappointed dreams,” John Carlin, who attended the trial and is the author of a book on the former athlete, told The Guardian last month.
Vocabulary Aid
1
Q3 LK Englisch Kursarbeit unter Abiturbedingungen Vorschlag B 2016-17 VR
public prosecutor: Staatsanwalt
mandatory: vorgeschrieben
culpable homicide: Totschlag
state prosecutor: Staatsanwalt
defencelawyer: Strafverteidiger
non-custodial:ohne Freiheitsentzug
reoffend: erneut eine Straftat begehen
carbon-fibreprosthetics: Prothese aus Kohlefaser
cataclysmic: katastrophal, verheerend
1
Q3 LK Englisch Kursarbeit unter Abiturbedingungen Vorschlag B 2016-17 VR
Count your words in steps of 50!
Class performance
15 / 14 / 13 / 12 / 11 / 10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 01