Pistorius Case Takes A New Turn

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Wpid Oscar Pistorius
Wpid Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius was Friday found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and judge Thokozile Masipa said sentencing proceedings would begin on October 13.

Oscar Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius’ bail was extended until the sentence is issued.

The prosecution and defence will be allowed to present new arguments to the court and call witnesses, National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Nathi Mncube told dpa.

The sentence will be issued soon after that, probably by October 16, he added.

Masipa announced a verdict of culpable homicide, South Africa’s term for manslaughter, a day after clearing Pistorius of the murder charge.

The verdict could bring the Olympic athlete a jail term of 5-10 years or a suspended sentence.

The judge also found Pistorius guilty of an unrelated charge of illegally discharging a gun in a restaurant, which could carry an additional jail term or a fine.

The double-amputee sprinter was on trial from March 3 to August 8, charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp, 29, who he shot through a toilet door at his Pretoria home on February 14, 2013.

Pistorius said he heard the bathroom window open at night and thought an intruder had entered.

“On behalf of our family, we would like to show how grateful we are to judge Masipa,” Arnold Pistorius, the athlete’s uncle, told journalists after the verdict was announced.

“We have never had any doubt in Oscar’s version of the incident,” he continued. “It won’t bring Reeva back, but our hearts go out to her family and friends.”

On hearing the verdict, Steenkamp’s mother, June, comforted weeping family members, and was heard telling them: “You must not cry.”

Pistorius had stood up to hear the verdict, then sat quietly with his sister, Aimee.

Gerrie Nel, the chief lawyer for the prosecution, glanced apologetically at Steenkamp’s father, Barry.

During her announcement of the verdict, Masipa said there was no reason to believe Pistorius “didn’t really entertain the belief that there was an intruder.”

His behaviour after the killing – seeking help, trying to resuscitate Steenkamp and praying to God to save her life – was “inconsistent with the conduct of someone who had the intention to commit murder,” the judge argued.

But even if Pistorius did not mean to kill anyone, he “acted negligently” and unreasonably, having known there was someone in the toilet with little room for manoeuvre when he fired the shots, the judge said.

Masipa’s decision to clear Pistorius of murder charges sparked widespread criticism, with legal experts arguing the killing must have been intentional since the athlete grabbed a gun, walked towards the bathroom and fired four times through the door.

The National Prosecuting Authority said it “respected” the court’s decision, but that it was “disappointed that we were not successful in securing a conviction on the original charge of premeditated murder.”

It pledged to wait until a sentence is issued and to “then comment on any further legal steps that might be envisaged.”

Pistorius, whose legs were amputated at the knee at the age of 11 months because of a congenital abnormality, became the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in the 2012 London Olympics.

 

GNA
PDC

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