PRETORIA, South Africa – The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius, set to open Monday, marks the start of a dramatic new chapter in the life of the double-amputee athlete who ran at the Olympics and became a global star before he shot his girlfriend to death. Sports Jerseys . Prosecutors charged the 27-year-old Pistorius with murder in Reeva Steenkamps death and say it was with premeditation. They say they will seek a life sentence if Pistorius is convicted, the sternest punishment available in South Africa. South Africa no longer has the death penalty. The intense public interest in the Pistorius trial is shown by the launching Sunday night of a 24-hour cable channel devoted to covering the court case. If convicted on the murder charge, Pistorius could be sent to prison for at least 25 years before the chance of parole, the minimum time someone must serve if given a life sentence in South Africa. He would be older than 50 before he could be released. The state says Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp at his home in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day last year by shooting her through a toilet door after an argument. Pistorius denies murder and says he killed his girlfriend by mistake when he fired four times through the door thinking there was a dangerous nighttime intruder on the other side. A lesser sentence is possible if Pistorius is found guilty of murder but without premeditation. He also could be convicted of culpable homicide, South Africas version of manslaughter in which someone is killed through negligence. Pistorius claims he was acting in self-defence against what he believed at the time was a threat to his life. As well as murder, Pistorius faces a second charge of illegal possession of ammunition for bullets found at his Pretoria house that he allegedly didnt have proper licensing for. Prosecutors say he also will be indicted Monday with two more gun charges relating to him allegedly shooting in public on two separate occasions before Steenkamps killing. The serving of an updated indictment to Pistorius in court is expected to be the first move at the trial at Pretorias high court. He has not yet been formally served with the papers that include all four charges against him, although his lawyers have had the papers and details of the additional gun charges since last year, prosecutors say. The gun charges reportedly relate to him allegedly shooting out the sunroof of a car in one incident and another when he allegedly fired a gun inside a restaurant, apparently by mistake. Those incidents happened in the court jurisdiction of the city of Johannesburg, not where Steenkamp was killed in Pretoria, and prosecutors applied to have the two charges included and heard at his murder trial. Female judge Thokozile Masipa will ultimately pronounce the champion runner innocent or guilty and will decide on any sentence. South Africa has no trial by jury. Parts of the trial will be broadcast on live television, both in South Africa and across the world, and hundreds of reporters are expected to descend on North Gauteng High Court in the South African capital for the start of the trial. The 24-hour cable channel devoted solely to the trial will continue until the case is finished. The trial will deal with the bloody killing of a 29-year-old model and law graduate, but also the issue of gun ownership and South Africas problem of violent crime, which Pistorius says was the reason why he kept his licensed 9 mm handgun under his bed. Pistorius says his fear of crime was why he fired four shots through the door, hitting Steenkamp three times — in the head, elbow and hip. Prosecutors maintain he was simply angry with her after an argument. Members of Pistorius family will likely attend the trial, as they did on his previous court hearings. His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, sister Aimee and brother Carl are all also listed as state witnesses. „We love Oscar, and believe in him, and will be standing by him throughout the coming trial,“ Arnold Pistorius said in a statement over the weekend. For the first time, members of Steenkamps family will also be in the courtroom according to a family statement that her mother June and others would be at the trial. The parents and close relatives of Steenkamp did not attend any of Pistorius previous court appearances. „All we are looking for is closure and to know that our daughter did not suffer on that tragic Valentines Day,“ Steenkamps parents said in a statement this month and days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting that stunned South Africa. Fake Sports Jerseys .J. – Several people have collapsed in an overcrowded New Jersey train station while waiting in long lines to get to the Super Bowl. Sports Jerseys From China .40 metres at the Drake Relays. Drouin, from Corunna, Ont., bested his own record of 2.38 metres set in Aug.NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Shonn Greene has done enough sitting and watching the past few months. Now the Tennessee running back is back on the field and couldnt be happier at how much better his right knee feels. Greene took the first snaps Saturday in team drills at the Titans initial training camp practice, his first work since having arthroscopic surgery in May on the same knee that cost him five games last season. He said he felt a little rusty. „This being my first day back I was kind of hesitant with it, but it held up for the most part and felt pretty good,“ Greene said. The Titans need the veteran to show why they gave him a three-year contract in March 2013. Chris Johnson was cut in April and now is with the New York Jets, Greenes old team. Greene must show he can stay healthy in Tennessee as the Titans look for someone to step up in a crowded backfield in training camp. The Titans signed Dexter McCluster as a free agent in March and drafted Bishop Sankey out of Washington in the second round in May. They also have Leon Washington, whos mostly a kick returner, Jackie Battle and undrafted rookie Antonio Andrews among the eight backs in camp. Coach Ken Whisenhunt said their roles have not been determined yet with training camp giving the Titans a better idea of how they will use the running backs. The Titans are limiting Greenes work to ease him back onto the field, trying to prevent the running backs knee from flaring up again. „The first day, its hard to tell anything,“ Whisenhunt said. „Its good to have him back out there. Well see how he progresses. The big thing is how he responds after practice, but our trainer, Todd (Toriscelli) is watching him. Going in, we had a plan for him, and well see how it progresses.“ The Titans wanted Greene for his pounding runniing style to complement Johnson, especially in short-yardage situations. Authentic Sports Jerseys. Greene hurt his knee in the season opener and missed the next five games as he recovered from arthroscopic surgery. Greene had only one game all season with more than 10 carries, and he had 91 yards on 19 attempts at Jacksonville on Dec. 22. „Toward the end of the season, I kind of felt like I was getting back in the swing of things,“ Greene said. „I think this time this surgery went a lot better, so my knees feeling a lot better now.“ Greene finished with 77 carries for 295 yards and an average of 3.8 yards per attempt. It was the worst of his career and a big drop from the back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with the Jets. McCluster had the best practice Saturday, using his speed to repeatedly get by defenders, and Sankey had some nice runs as well. McCluster was a Pro Bowl punt returner in Kansas City last year and is coming off a career-best 53 catches. But he combined for only 20 carries over the past two seasons combined. Greene said he thinks opportunities for playing time are there for all the running backs with each bringing a different quality to the Titans. „We can do different things out of the backfield, the harder itll be on defences,“ Greene said. Notes: Safety George Wilson was excused Saturday because of a death in the family. Whisenhunt said the safety was expected to rejoin the team by Saturday night. … S Bernard Pollard intercepted Jake Locker twice, once in a passing drill with the second in a team session. Pollard said he planned to go by Whisenhunts office to trash-talk the coach after his big plays. … Rookie Taylor Lewan, the 11th pick overall, took snaps at both tackle spots and at left guard with Andy Levitre recovering from an appendectomy. ‚ ‚ ‚
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