Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide
Friday, the finale of an emotional 6 ½-month trial in the shooting death of his
girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The conviction comes just a day after Judge Thokozile Masipa pronounced
the double amputee track star not guilty of murder.
Masipa also found the double amputee track star guilty of one of three
firearms charges. He was convicted of firing a gun in a restaurant — an
incident not related to the Steenkamp shooting — but not of possession of
ammunition or a separate count that he fired out of the sunroof of a car.
After the verdict, Pistorius’ family members remained somber but said
they were grateful for the outcome.
"The verdict is a big burden of our shoulders and Oscar's,” uncle
Arnold Pistorius said on behalf of the family.
"There's no victors in this,” he continued. “It won't bring Reeva
back, but our hearts go out to her family and friends."
Masipa granted Pistorius bail while he awaits his sentencing hearing,
which will take place between Oct. 13 and 16.
Under South African law, the runner could get up to 10 years in prison
on the weapons charge and another 15 for homocide.
Masipa can also give Pistorius a suspended sentence and set him free.
Darren Fresco, Pistorius' pal turned state witness in two of the three
firearms charges, has been granted indemnity against prosecution.
Steenkamp’s parents and prosecutors appeared stunned when Masipa
announced the track star was not guilty of murder Thursday. Then their shock
turned into dismay when the judge hinted she might nail Pistorius on the lesser
charge — and then put it off until Friday.
During the 41-day trial, which lasted more than six months due to
breaks and delays, Pistorius never denied that he killed Steenkamp early on
Valentine’s Day 2013.
But the 27-year-old runner insisted it was a terrible accident, and
that he thought he was firing on a burglar who had broken into a bathroom in
his Pretoria home.
That's an explanation Masipa bought.
“Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he
would kill the person behind the door — let alone the deceased, as he thought
she was in the bedroom,” she said.
Prosecutors contended Pistorius was a short-fused, gun-loving hothead
who chased Steenkamp on his stumps to a toilet cubicle and shot her four times
through a closed door.
While Masipa said there were “just not enough facts” to convict
Pistorius of premeditated murder, she also called him “evasive” and “a very
poor witness.” She rejected the defense’s contention that Pistorius began
blasting because he lacked the cognitive capacity to know what he was doing.
Pistorius “could have picked up his phone and called the police,” she
said. “The accused had reasonable time to reflect, to think and to conduct
himself reasonably.”
In the aftermath of Masipa’s verdict, Pistorius hugged his family. On
Friday, he and his sister Aimee Pistorius cried together as he texted on his
phone.
An emotional Henke Pistorius patted his son on the back during a break
in proceedings.
On the Steenkamp side, Reeva’s mom, June Steenkamp, held her cousin and
cried. The late model’s friends, Gina and Kim Myers, cried uncontrollably.
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