THE PISTORIUS DEFENSE.

PISTORIUS, Oscar, 1986-; MURDER trials; WHITE people; FEAR of crime; CRIME; SOUTH African social conditions; ATTITUDE (Psychology); ACTIONS & defenses (Law); SOUTH African history, 1994-; RACE relations

The article looks at the trial of runner Oscar Pistorius for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the context of social conditions and race relations in South Africa, as of 2014. The author claims that many white South Africans have an intense fear of black home intruders, making Pistorius's claim that he thought he was shooting an intruder plausible, and describes the psychological background of such fear in the context of racism in the country's history.