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| Guilty, Oscar Pistorius |
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter like the British call it, after the judge found he killed his girlfriend by mistake. Judge Thokozile Masipa said the athlete acted "negligently" when he fired shots through a toilet door, but in the "belief that there was an intruder".
She said the state had failed to prove he intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp. The judge allowed Pistorius to remain on bail ahead of sentencing which is to take place on 13 Octobe
The Paralympian athlete, who fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, appeared at Pretoria High Court in South Africa on Friday, September 12, to hear Judge Thokozile Masipa declare him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide. He stood silently with his hands in front of him as he listened to the verdict.
Judge Masipa ruled the athlete killed his girlfriend Steenkamp by mistake, calling the evidence to suggest he murdered her "clearly circumstantial." But she felt Pistorius did not act like a "reasonable person" when he fired four shots into the toilet cubicle where Steenkamp was located, saying he acted "too hastily and used excessive force. In the circumstances, it is clear his conduct was negligent."
Pistorius was also found guilty on one firearms charge, but acquitted on two others.
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