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Not guilty of 2nd degree murder.
Still could be found guilty of culpable homicide.
Still could be found guilty of culpable homicide.
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Tanks fi de Hupdate. Seems I am the only one that called this one right.
Even my son thought ti was deliberate and all the crying and fainting and vomiting in court was an act. I can't wait to send this to him.
After six months of testimony, postponements and psychiatric evaluations, there's a verdict in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.The 27-year-old athlete shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a locked bathroom door on Feb. 14, 2013. He maintains that he believed the model, who was 29 at the time of the slaying, had been an intruder. Prosecutors say he killed her deliberately in a fit of anger after an argument.
Although the verdict is still in progress, Judge Thokozile Masipa did rule on Thursday that Pistorius' actions on the night of Steenkamp's slaying were not premeditated. Masipa also noted that there was “no doubt” Pistorius had acted unlawfully.
With the premeditated murder charge off the table, Pistorius can still face a charge of culpable homicide, which means he may spend 5 years in prison rather than 25 years. He is also facing three unrelated weapons charges: two counts of unlawfully firing a gun in public and one count of illegal possession of ammunition.
Pistorius is a double amputee known as the "Blade Runner" for the blade-like prosthetics he uses while running. In 2012, he became the first amputee to compete in track in the Olympics when he ran in two events in the 2012 Summer Games in London.Comment
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GERALD IMRAY, Associated PressCHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — The judge in Oscar Pistorius' murder trial appeared to be heading for a culpable homicide finding Thursday after ruling out both premeditated murder and murder verdicts in the shooting death of the double-amputee Olympic athlete's girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said prosecutors have not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius, 27, is guilty of premeditated murder.
"Culpable homicide is a competent verdict," the judge said, but did not deliver any formal verdicts in the shooting death of Pistorius' 29-year-old girlfriend before calling for a lunch break in the proceedings.
Culpable homicide refers to a negligent killing. If Pistorius is acquitted of murder, he could still be sent to jail for years if it's found he acted negligently in Steenkamp's death. Pistorius has admitted firing the four shots that killed Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend, a model and budding reality TV star, for an intruder and killed her accidentally. The prosecution alleges the athlete intentionally killed her after a loud argument, which was heard by neighbors.
Masipa was explaining her reasoning behind the upcoming verdicts in the case against Pistorius, and said there were "just not enough facts" to support the finding of premeditated murder in Steenkamp's fatal shooting.
As the judge spoke, Pistorius wept quietly, his shoulders shaking as he sat on a wooden bench.
Masipa earlier told Pistorius he could remain seated on the bench while she read her verdict out and until she asked him to stand for the judgment. She then proceeded to explain her assessment of the testimonies of some of the 37 witnesses in the trial, including Pistorius' testimony in his own defense.
In that assessment, Masipa described Pistorius as a "very poor witness"
who had lost his composure on the stand and was at times "evasive", but she emphasized that did not mean he was guilty of murder.
Earlier, the 66-year-old judge cast doubt on witness accounts of hearing a woman's screams, a key part of the prosecution's case. Masipa said "none of the witnesses had ever heard the accused cry or scream, let alone when he was anxious," apparently acknowledging the possibility of the defense's argument that Pistorius had been the person screaming in a high-pitched voice after discovering he had fatally shot Steenkamp.
At one point, Masipa said: "I continue to explain why most witnesses got their facts wrong."
Masipa also said she was disregarding text messages between Steenkamp and Pistorius that had been entered as evidence. Prosecutors had submitted text messages that showed tension between them while the defense submitted messages that indicated mutual affection. That evidence, the judge said, doesn't prove anything.
"Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle," she said.
Pistorius faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder for fatally shooting Steenkamp through a toilet cubicle door in his home in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14, 2013. He also faced years in jail if found guilty of murder without pre-planning, or of negligent killing. Pistorius could also be acquitted if Masipa believes he made a tragic error and acted reasonably.
Pistorius has said he thought there was an intruder in his home and pleaded not guilty to murder.
A key part of the prosecution's case was its assertion that Steenkamp screamed during a late-night alleged fight with Pistorius before he killed her. But Masipa said some of those witnesses who testified to hearing a woman scream were "genuinely mistaken in what they heard, as the chronology will show."
Masipa also cited testimony of an acoustics expert called by the defense, saying it cast "serious doubt" on whether witnesses who were hundreds of meters (yards) away in their homes — as some state witnesses were — could have differentiated between the screams of a man or a woman.
Earlier, Masipa began by outlining in detail the four charges against the Olympic runner: Murder, two counts of unlawfully firing a gun in a public place in unrelated incidents and one count of illegal possession of ammunition.
Before the session began, Pistorius hugged his brother Carl, who was seated in a wheelchair because of injuries suffered in a recent car crash.
The parents of Steenkamp were also in the packed gallery. Other members of Pistorius' family, including his father Henke, sat behind him.
If Pistorius is convicted on any charge, the case will likely be postponed until a later sentencing hearing.
There were many journalists at the courthouse, where the sensational trial has unfolded over the last six months.Comment
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So it seems likely he will be found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter).
Sentence can range from suspended sentence up to fifteen years in prison.
What do you think he will get?
I am guessing that because of his disability and the fact that the judge thinks he genuinely thought there was an intruder in his home he will not see the inside of a prison. Maybe some community service and probation but that will be about the extent of it.Comment
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Suspended sentence or probatiion + community service. She may mandate therapy for him....in Canada we can't do that anymore ....people have rights.
Last edited by Tropicana; 09-11-2014, 12:24 PM.Comment
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Found guilty of culpable homicide!
It seems that this judge is known for rather harsh sentencing in crimes such as this so we will have to wait and see.
If the jusdge indeed believes that he genuinely thought that there was an intruder in his home and he is more vulnerable than most people because of his physical challenges, then it would not seem right to sentence him to a long prison term. But he has shown in the past that he has a history of being reckless with a pistol, so there's that.Comment
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Confused count 3 was not part of the original case was it? Didn't this just come out in the evidence?- Count one: not guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp, but guilty of culpable homicide
- Count two: not guilty of firearms charge relating to sunroof incident
- Count three: guilty of negligence in regards to firearms charge relating to Tashas restaurant
- Count four: not guilty of firearms charge relating to possession of illegal ammunition
Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, after yesterday being cleared of murdering Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year. Reading from her written judgment, Judge Thokozile Masipa told the court that there was not enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the athlete was guilty of premeditated murder or murder. He was also found guilty on one firearms charge, but acquitted on two others. Pistorius could face up to 15 years in jail on the culpable homicide charge, but he will not be sentenced until next month.Here is what has been heard so far:
Noon: Judge Masipa returns to give her ruling on Pistorius's bail application. She recaps on the arguments made by defence lawyer Barry Roux and prosecutor Gerrie Nel. The judge says that if the prosecution was so concerned that Pistorius had sold his properties, then it would have investigated the matter long ago and brought it to the court's attention. She has therefore granted the defence's bail application. Masipa agrees to adjourn until 13 October.
10.20am: Defence lawyer Barry Roux and prosecutor Gerrie Nel are putting forward their arguments for whether or not Pistorius should be given bail. Roux says his client's existing bail agreement should be valid until the sentence is imposed. The athlete has complied with all his bail conditions and detaining him would make it difficult for the defence team to prepare its submissions for sentencing, he says.
Nel points out that Pistorius has now been convicted of causing "the death of an innocent woman". He suggests that "lengthy imprisonment" is probable and the athlete now knows for a fact that he has been convicted. The prosecutor says Pistorius has sold his house and, although he has no evidence to prove it, he can "draw an inference" that Pistorius sold it so he did not have to stay in South Africa. Nel also mentions the incident at a nightclub in which Pistorius was allegedly involved and says that Pistorius is a suicide risk.
Roux says Pistorius's appearance at the nightclub was a mistake and that his client now accepts he cannot go to such public places. He says that the athlete sold his property to pay for legal costs and is not planning to go abroad. In a controversial move, the lawyer reads out the address of Pistorius's Uncle Arnold, with whom the athlete has been staying for 18 months.
Judge Masipa adjourns the court to consider her decision, with Pistorius taken to the cells for the duration of the break.
9.20am: Masipa recaps the four counts against Pistorius and her findings. She repeats again that the state did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder or murder. Today, she is giving a detailed legal explanation of why she acquitted Pistorius of murder dolus eventualis – a decision which received some criticism from legal experts yesterday. Finally, Masipa asks Pistorius to stand and announces:
- Count one: not guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp, but guilty of culpable homicide
- Count two: not guilty of firearms charge relating to sunroof incident
- Count three: guilty of negligence in regards to firearms charge relating to Tashas restaurant
- Count four: not guilty of firearms charge relating to possession of illegal ammunition
Masipa then moves straight onto the issue of whether or not witness Darren Fresco should receive indemnity from prosecution for his evidence. Despite earlier describing some of his testimony as "dishonest", she allows him indemnity.
9.10am: Pistorius's final firearms charge is the illegal possession of .38 ammunition in his Pretoria home. The athlete did not have a gun that takes that ammunition, but neither did he have a permit to be in possession of the ammunition. Pistorius told the court the bullets belonged to his father and he had them for safe-keeping, although his estranged father declined to sign an affidavit to confirm that the ammunition was his own. Masipa says the accused must have the "necessary mental intention to possess a firearm or ammunition before there can be a conviction". The state failed to prove that Pistorius had the necessary mental intention to possess the ammunition, she says. Therefore, he cannot be found guilty on this count.
Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/world-news/...#ixzz3D6u60Rr3Last edited by Tropicana; 09-12-2014, 10:09 AM.Comment
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I still find it strange that his girlfriend got up in the middle of the night to use the toiltet and took her cell phone with her and locked the bathroom door from the inside. Who locks the bathroom door from the inside when you go to th toilet in the middle of the night when there is only the two of you in the house and the other person is sleeping when you get out of bed to use the toilet.?Comment
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Force of habit. When I have company I lock the door to the toilet. Mind you it is never a man and he is never sleeping in my bed.Originally posted by My Looh View Post
When I was married before the baby came, I don't recall if I locked the door to the washroom.
Once my son was visiting and I locked myself into the bathroom when having a bath. Again force of habit. When i was finished, I couldn't get out. He had to call police and fireman to get me out. The lock had malfunctioned. It was SO eembarrassing. 
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Note to self..when you marry again and if you ever backslide and
at man's house....
..don't lock the door.
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So the judge give him a prison term of five years but he could be released in as little as ten months.Comment
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I was on the road non-stop for October and the early part of November and I just realized I completely missed this. Looks like the judge believed his story:
Oscar Pistorius’s 5-Year Sentence May Mean Move to House ArrestSeeking to strike a balance between mercy and retribution, a judge sentenced Oscar Pistorius, the South African track star, to five years in prison on Tuesday for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The defense team said the law under which Mr. Pistorius was sentenced called for him to serve only one-sixth of the prison term — 10 months — before he can be placed under house arrest. He was also given a suspended three-year term on separate firearms charges.
But some South African legal experts said the conversion of prison time to house arrest was not automatic and required negotiations with the correctional authorities. After serving half the sentence, Mr. Pistorius can also apply for parole.
Summing up her sentence, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa said her decision was “about achieving the right balance — proportionality.” A long sentence would lack mercy, she said, while a more lenient one would “send the wrong message to the community.”
Continue reading the main story
“It would be a sad day for this country if an impression was created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged and another for the rich and famous,” she said.Comment
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What a shock!
JOHANNESBURG - South African athlete Oscar Pistorius will be released on parole on Aug. 21 after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence for culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, authorities said.
The Olympic and Paralympic track star is behind bars in the capital, Pretoria, after being convicted in October after a seven-month trial.
The release of Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, had been largely expected under South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.
A prison service statement said Pistorius would spend the remainder of his time under "correctional supervision", a form of house arrest.
Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, died on Valentine's Day in 2013 when Pistorius shot her through a locked toilet door at his luxury Pretoria home.
Prosecutors had pushed for a murder conviction, but the athlete maintained he fired in the mistaken belief an intruder was hiding behind the door, a defence that struck home with many in a country with one of the world's highest rates of violent crime.
The state won its bid to appeal the culpable homicide conviction and will seek a murder conviction when the case is heard in November.
Pistorius could face a prison sentence of at least 15 years if convicted of murder.Comment
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