Friday 12 September 2014

Breaking News:Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide.

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge, a day after the judge Thokozile Masipa cleared him of murder, means Pistorius could receive anything from 15 years in prison to a suspended sentence, which would potentially allow the double amputee a chance to resurrect his sporting career. The court will resume for sentencing at a later date.

Masipa said on the first day of delivering her verdict that it was clear Pistorius acted unlawfully in opening fire at his home, but she cleared him of the murder charges, for which she said the evidence was "purely circumstantial".

Masipa said a "reasonable person" would not have fired four shots into the toilet cubicle, and that Pistorius acted "too hastily and used excessive force. In the circumstances, it is clear his conduct was negligent."

Pistorius has said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot four times through a locked bathroom door, killing her almost instantly.

He was cleared of firing a firearm through a sunroof and of illegal possession of ammunition, but found guilty of illegally discharging a firearm in a crowded restaurant in January 2013, weeks before Steenkamp's death.

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