Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty of Culpable Homicide
Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by a judge in his trial in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday. However, he wasn’t able to get away scot-free on Friday.
The double-amputee Olympian was found guilty by the same judge Friday of culpable homicide, a lesser charge and the United States equivalent to manslaughter.
"The accused is found not guilty and discharged," Judge Thokozile Masipa announced in court before a standing, emotionless Pistorius, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide."
Pistorius’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 13. At that time, Pistorius can be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in jail, depending on how reckless Masipa determines he was during last February’s incident.
Masipa’s ruling complies with culpable homicide as a negligent, unintentional killing one day after she declared he was not guilty of premeditated murder. The judge told reporters how Pistorius calling an ambulance and praying that Steenkamp’s life be saved after the shooting last February didn’t fall in line with someone who thought about committing murder, thus Thursday’s not guilty verdict.
"The conduct of the accused shortly after the incident is inconsistent with the conduct of someone who intended to commit murder," Masipa said. "From the above it cannot be said that the accused did not entertain a genuine belief that there was an intruder in the bathroom who posed a direct threat to his life.”
The athlete, known as “Bladerunner,” admitted firing gun shots through the bathroom door in his home, hitting Steenkamp, who he allegedly mistook for a home intruder.
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(Photo: Alon Skuy/The Times/Gallo Image/Getty Images)