Oscar Pistorius Guilty of Culpable Homicide

12 Sep, 2014

A South African judge on Friday found Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and declared him not guilty of murder. Prosecutors said they were disappointed by the ruling but would decide on whether to appeal only after sentencing.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said there was not enough evidence to support the contention that Pistorius knew Steenkamp was behind a locked toilet door in his home when he shot through the door in the predawn hours of Valentine’s Day last year. Masipa said prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp.

The killing by a national sports hero stunned South Africans, and reactions on the verdict were mixed.

Free again after the judge extended his bail on the same terms, the double-amputee Olympian left the courtroom surrounded by police officers. He must return on Oct. 13 when his sentencing hearing will start, Judge Masipa said. Pistorius and his family didn’t immediately comment.

The red-robed judge earlier ordered Pistorius, 27, to stand before she delivered the formal verdicts on the multiple counts against him, and said they were unanimous verdicts, meaning she and her two legal assessors agreed on the findings. The conviction of culpable homicide, or negligent killing, can bring a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, although legal experts pointed to five years as a guideline.

After the verdict, Pistorius sat with his sister Aimee on the wooden bench where he has spent most of his six-month murder trial. She put an arm around his shoulders and spoke to him.

Members of Steenkamp’s family, including her mother June and father Barry, were in court to hear the verdict in the 29-year-old model’s killing. A close friend of Steenkamp’s cried in court during the verdict.

The judge ruled that the athlete was guilty of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place when a friend’s pistol he was handling discharged under a table in a restaurant in Johannesburg in early 2013 – weeks before Steenkamp’s killing.

Pistorius was acquitted on two other weapons charges, including a count of firing a gun in public and a count of illegal possession of ammunition in the Pretoria home where he killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013. He said he mistook her for an intruder, while the prosecution said he killed her intentionally after an argument.

AP

Image SIPHIWE SIBEKO

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