Oscar Pistorius - NOT GUILTY OF MURDER

Catitude — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:21:00 GMT

(Sorry, didn't see that there was another thread on this subject)

OHANNESBURG -- A judge found South African athlete Oscar Pistorius not guilty of premeditated murder Thursday in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but said the defendant had been "negligent," raising the prospect of a culpable homicide, or manslaughter, conviction.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, after reading a lengthy explanation of the evidence and charges, recessed the court until Friday without rendering a final verdict.

But she did tell the court that she found that Pistorius "acted too hastily and used excessive force" when he fired four times into the door of a toilet stall in his apartment, killing Steenkamp.

"It is it is clear that his conduct was negligent," she said.

The Olympic athlete, known as the Blade Runner for his use of specially designed prosthetic legs, was on trial for the shooting death of his 29-year-old girlfriend on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Prosecutors accused Pistorius of intentionally killing her by firing through the door of a toilet stall where, they alleged, she had taken refuge following an argument.

Pistorius claimed he thought Steenkamp was in bed and that he accidentally shot her through the bathroom door, mistakenly believing there was an intruder in his home.

The judge earlier said state prosecutors failed to prove that Pistorius is guilty of either premeditated murder or second-degree murder, thus ruling out those charges.

Seated in the dock, the 27-year-old Pistorius frequently sobbed and held his head in his hands as the judge ruled on the most serious charges.

But after a lunch break, the judge came back to criticize Pistorius for his conduct the night of the killing.

A reasonable person, she said, "would have foreseen if he fired shots at the door, the person inside the toilet might be struck and die as a result."

If he had felt threatened by an intruder, the judge said, "all the accused had to do was to pick up his cell phone to call security or the police. He could have run to the balcony and screamed in the same way he had screamed after the incident."

Pistorius, she said, "had reasonable time to reflect, to think and to conduct himself reasonably."

The defendant also faces a verdict on two charges relating to the discharge of a firearm in a public place and one charge of illegal possession of ammunition. Masipa, not a jury, decided the verdict in line with South African legal custom.

If Pistorius had been found guilty of premeditated murder he could have received 25 years in jail.

The judge, in rendering her verdict, called Pistorius "evasive" on the stand and a "very poor witness" who often contradicted himself, but said the state had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

"During his evidence, he seemed composed and logical... [but] under cross examination he lost his composure...[and it seemed] the accused was suffering from enormous emotional stress and was traumatized by reliving the incident," she said.

"The accused therefore cannot be found guilty of murder dolus eventualis [legal intent] ... that however is not the end of the matter as culpable homicide is a competent verdict," said Masipa.

At his bail hearing last year, Pistorius said in a statement read by his lawyer that after he realized he had shot Steenkamp, he pulled on his prosthetic legs and tried to kick down the toilet door before finally giving up and bashing it in with a cricket bat. Inside, he said he found the South Afridan model slumped over but still alive. He said he lifted her bloodied body and carried her downstairs to seek medical help.

Re: Oscar Pistorius - NOT GUILTY OF MURDER

Charming1_1 — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:27:35 GMT

lol, I posted about this and then saw Complicated has already posted too

Re: Oscar Pistorius - NOT GUILTY OF MURDER

Catitude — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:30:00 GMT

On 9/11/2014 Charming1 said:
lol, I posted about this and then saw Complicated has already posted too

Sorry, I scrolled down to see but I guess not far enough.

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Oscar Pistorius - NOT GUILTY OF MURDER

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Re: Oscar Pistorius - NOT GUILTY OF MURDER