Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide

The judge in the murder trial against Oscar Pistorius says the double-amputee athlete is guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Oscar Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide in shooting dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Alon Skuy / AP Photo

Pretoria // Oscar Pistorius walked out of court on bail yesterday after he was convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa extended the Paralympic gold medallist’s bail of 1 million rand (Dh334,000) and scheduled his sentencing hearing to start on October 13.

Punishment for culpable homicide could range from a fine to as much as 15 years in jail.

“The accused acted negligently when he fired shots into the toilet door knowing that there was someone behind the door and that there was very little room in which to manoeuvre,” Ms Masipa said. “A reasonable person, therefore, in the position of the accused with similar disability would have foreseen the possibility that whoever was behind the door might be killed by the shots.”

Prosecutors said they were disappointed by the ruling but would decide on whether to appeal only after sentencing.

Pistorius avoided a murder conviction as Ms Masipa said prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp.

Some legal analysts said they understood why Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder but were surprised that the runner was not convicted of murder. The prosecution also was troubled by the not guilty verdict for murder.

“We believe there is sufficient and credible evidence to secure a conviction” on a murder charge, said Nathi Mncube, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority. He said, however, that any decision to appeal the judge’s ruling would come after the case is “concluded” with sentencing.

Unlike many other times during the trial that began on March 3, Pistorius showed no emotion as he stood in his dark suit with his hands crossed in front of him for the judgment.

Police struggled to contain a crowd of people clamouring to touch Pistorius as he left the court. The athlete hugged his sister, Aimee, in the dock after the verdict, while June Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother, comforted a family member.

“It’s a big burden off us, off our shoulders,” Pistorius’ uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said. “We always knew the facts of the matter and we never had any doubt in Oscar’s version of this tragic incident.”

Pistorius said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her, while the prosecution said he killed her intentionally after an argument.

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

“Well I think the verdict is shocking to say the least,” said Leonard Gray in Port Elizabeth, Steenkamp’s hometown. “I think there is clear evidence and indications that he committed murder in this case. ... I feel sorry for Reeva Steenkamp’s family because they’re not going to get any closure because this guy is basically getting away with murder in my opinion.”

However, Shrina Padayachy, also in Port Elizabeth, called the judge’s verdict “fair and just because it’s the prosecution that must prove beyond a reasonable doubt and from what I gather and seen they haven’t.”

Pistorius shot four hollow-point bullets through a locked toilet door, killing Steenkamp, whom he said he mistakenly believed was an intruder in his home in the early hours of the morning on February 14, last year.

“Probably you’re looking at three to four years, but it’s very difficult to predict as one will have to wait to see what arguments both sides come up with,” Ulrich Roux, a director at Johannesburg-based BDK Attorneys, said.

The state may appeal the verdict by arguing that Ms Masipa misinterpreted the law on the charge of murder, Stephen Tuson, an adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said.

“The state may well wish to take the verdict on the murder charge on appeal,” he said. “They’re going to have to demonstrate to an appeal court that there was an error of law by the judge in her interpretation of what the law dolus eventualis is.”

Known as the Blade Runner because of his J-shaped prosthetic running blades, Pistorius was the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics.

* Bloomberg with additional reporting by Associated Press