Professor says Oscar Pistorius' disability explains his reaction in intruder theory: 'If one cannot flee the other option is to fight'University of Cape Town professor Wayne Derman testified Thursday that the Blade Runner, a double-amputee, must choose a “fight” over “flight” response because ‘the individual has no lower legs,’ and that could be why the athlete took a gun to confront who he thought was an intruder, but instead ended up shooting and killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius (left) speaks with members of his legal team.
For Oscar Pistorius, it was fight or flight.
And because he’s a double-amputee, the South African sprinter chose fight when he thought a burglar was in his bathroom and accidentally killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
So claimed a University of Cape Town professor Thursday who has worked with Pistorius for years.
“In this context fleeing is not an option, the individual has no lower legs,” Wayne Derman testified at Pistorius’ murder trial. “If one cannot flee the other option is to fight.”
When Pistorius heard a noise coming from inside the toilet cubicle, he opened fire because “he was aiming to neutralize the threat,” Derman testified.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel contends a furious Pistorius deliberately neutralized his lover after a Valentine’s Day 2013 fight by firing four shots through a bathroom door.
Pistorius insists it was an accident and that he loved the 29-year-old bikini model.
Oscar Pistorius during his trial on Thursday.
While Nel grilled Derman and questioned his credentials, the 27-year-old athlete sat clenching his teeth in the Pretoria courtroom.
It wasn’t clear if Pistorius was angry with Nel — or with Derman’s depiction of him as a “paradox” who is one of the fastest men in the world and also “significantly disabled.”
“Although he loathes to be pitied in any way, the hard truth is that he does not have lower legs,” said Derman.
Pistorius’ “disability never sleeps.”
“It’s there when you go to sleep at night and it's there when you wake up in the morning,” the professor said. “It affects nearly every aspect of your life.”
Born without fibulas, Pistorius was 11-months-old when his legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles. He uses distinctive scythe-like prosthetics to compete and regular prosthetics to get around.
www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/oscar-pistorius-choose-fight-flight-article-1.1853596Court adjourned until 9.30am on Monday when Professor Derwent will continue to give evidence.
