Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic athlete on murder trial has been found guilty of culpable homicide for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on 2013 Valentines Day. The trial court said Pistorius acted hastily and used excessive force when he shot into the toilet, killing Steenkamp.
The guilty verdict on culpable homicide charge came a day after Judge Thokozile Masipa absolved Pistorius of murder. Although the judge had reserved sentencing in the case till October 13, Friday’s verdict means Pistorius could be handed anything from 15 years in prison to a suspended sentence.
The Judge, on the first day of delivering her verdict, said it was clear Pistorius acted unlawfully in opening fire at his home, but that the evidence for the murder charge was “purely circumstantial.”
But on the culpable homicide charge, Masipa said Pistorius had acted negligently when he shot Steenkamp. “A reasonable person, with a similar disability, would have foreseen that the person behind the door would be killed, and the accused failed to take action to avoid this,” the judge said.
Pistorius has been admitted to bail while awaiting October 13 when the court would read out his sentencing.
WhatsApp us