Oscar Pistorius trial: Athlete found guilty of culpable homicide - Verdicts in full
The Paralympic athlete has been found guilty of culpable homicide and one of three unrelated firearm charges
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.
The Paralympic athlete could face a lengthy prison sentence - culpable homicide carries up to 15 years behind bars.
Pistorius stood impassively in the dock and kept his eyes fixated on Judge Thokozile Masipa as she read out her verdict to the packed court room in Pretoria.
She made her culpable homicide decision on the fact that Pistorius had acted unreasonably and negligently when he fired four shots into a toilet door in his Pretoria home on the night of Valentine's day last year, killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who was behind it, almost instantly.
She said he made a “conscious decision” to pick up a gun and knew the difference between right and wrong.
Yesterday Masipa dismissed prosecution claims that the double-amputee intentionally killed Ms Steenkamp, saying Pistorius could not be convicted of either pre-meditated or second-degree murder.
Pistorius was also found guilty of one unrelated charge of firing a pistol under a table in a restaurant in Johannesburg, but was acquitted of another count of discharging a firearm from a sunroof and of possessing ammunition for an illegal firearm.
Additional reporting by PA and Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments