Thursday, April 3, 2025

US Disability Group Blast Oscar’s Defence

Disability rights groups in the US disagree with the idea that people with disabilities are more likely to have symptoms of anxiety and “exaggerated fight or flight” responses,

Oscar Pistorius’  “exaggerated fight or flight” mentality due to his disabilities is apparently not a viable reasoning for his actions, US disability rights groups have said.

Oscar’s defence team has been highlighting the notion that he is especially vulnerable due to his amputations, but the National Organisation on Disabilities in the US said that the reasoning is an “exploitation” of the athlete’s “physical disability to say that it’s linked to some mental health issue that would cause him to commit murder”.

Carol Glazer, the president of the group, claims that Oscar’s ability to handle the pressure and stress to win able-bodied races is proof that he has “figured out how to adapt his disability”.

Echoing that opinion, Henry Claypoll, executive vice president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said that he doesn’t believe that Pistorius’ disability can justify the killing of Steenkamp.

Check out the full story on Yahoo! News (via News24).