The cases of the Blade runner and The Juice - Does justice not always bring out the truth?

There really can be no peace without justice. There can be no justice without truth. And there can be no truth, unless someone rises up to tell you the truth.

- Louis Farrakhan, Leader, Nation of Islam

(image source: www.wisegeek.org)

In 1994-95, the entire America was hooked on to a murder trial, that of O J Simpson (who was nicknamed "The Juice" during his playing years), famous American rugby player. He was accused in 1994 of the murders of his ex-wife and another person. In 1995, the verdict came out - he was found not guilty. As in every trial involving a famous personality, there were multiple versions of the case and the people had views of their own. But it captivated a nation's imagination to such extent that it gave news - print and TV a huge fillip.

In the last two years, something similar has played out in the drawing rooms of South African homes. South Africa is no stranger to crime, with many localities being dangerous to even walk through after dusk. It is one of the most crime infested places in the world.

Oscar Pistorius, a famous South African athlete, was charged with the murder of his girlfriend and model, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was unique inasmuch that he was born without  fibulas (calf bones). When he was 11 months old, his parents chose have both of his legs amputated below the knee, enabling him to be fitted with prosthetic legs.

He started using the prosthetic legs and became an athlete. He even competed in the 2013 London Olympics. He became so famous as "the fastest man with no legs" and was an inspiration for many people. He was called the "blade runner". His story was a motivation that persons born with disability could achieve anything they wanted, if they had the will to. He became a South African hero.

Which was when this happened.

On February 14, 2013, Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his house in Pretoria, South Africa, stating that he had mistaken her for an intruder hiding in the bathroom. It became a case of using the gun for self defence. He was arrested and charged with murder and found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced for five years in prison. On appeal, the verdict of culpable homicide was overturned by the Appeal Court and he was convicted of murder. At present he is free on bail, but under house arrest.

The trial of Pistorius has similarities with the O J Simpson case inasmuch that famous persons were brought down from grace because of serious events involving them and judgements in their cases don't seem to conclusively convey the truth (O J Simpson was later charged for "wrongful deaths" and Pistorius is now appealing against a murder sentence). Now, whether they did it or not has come to become and will remain a matter of imagination and argument, in the absence of "conclusive evidence" in the eyes of the court. Trials fraught with technicalities have delivered judgements that don't perhaps have a lot to do with the truth.  Back home, the recent case of Hindi film actor Salman Khan can't be a better example.