Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The judge in the case, Thokozile Matilda Masipa,cited that there were “not enough facts” to convict Pistorius of the most serious charge against him. However, it has not been ruled out that Pistorius could be convicted of the lesser charge of culpable homicide or third degree murder, which would lead to significantly less prison time than the dismissed murder charge.
“Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door,” Judge Masipa quoted Mr. Pistorius as saying, as she recited the various ways he described the shooting during the trial. At times, he said he shot “in the belief that the intruders were coming out” to attack him. At other moments, he said “he never intended to shoot anyone” and had not fired purposefully at the door, the judge said. Part of Mr. Pistorius’s evidence, she said, was “inconsistent with someone who shot without thinking.”
Ms. Steenkamp, Judge Masipa added, “was killed under very peculiar circumstances.” While questions remained, “what is not conjecture is that the accused armed himself with a loaded firearm.” But the evidence that he committed premeditated murder was “purely circumstantial.”
“The state clearly has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder,” she said. “There are not enough facts.”
But, she continued, “there is no doubt that when the accused fired shots through the toilet door he acted unlawfully.”
South Africans have compared Pistorius’ trial to the OJ Simpson murder trial of his wife Nicole. If Pistorius had been found guilty, he would’ve faced a minimum 25-year prison term.
[h/t NY Times]