Pistorius verdict: Not guilty but guilty

Oscar Pistorius has just been declared not guilty of premeditated murder, but guilty of culpable homicide. He was also convicted of shooting a gun in a restaurant.

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Paralympian Oscar Pistorius awaits the verdict at the High Court in Pretoria on Friday, September 12, 2014. He was acquitted of premeditated murder but convicted of culpable homicide. AFP PHOTO/: Alon Skuy/Pool

Final verdict: Not guilty but guilty

Judge Thokozile Masipa has just declared that there is no clear evidence that Oscar Pistorius  deliberately killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp so he can not be convicted of premeditated murder, but that his actions were negligent. Thus she found him gulty of culpable homicide.

"A reasonable person, with a similar disability, would have foreseen that the person behind the door would be killed, and the accused failed to take action to avoid this," the judge said.

The judge also ruled that Pistorius was guilty in separate incident of firing a gun in an restaurant.

Pistorius will be sentenced at a later date. The maximum jail term for culpable homicide is 15 years. The shooting charge carries a possible five-year penalty.

This file picture dated November 4, 2012 shows South Africa's Olympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during the Feather Awards held at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. Yesterday, he was acquitted of deliberately killing her, but still faces a lesser charge of culpable homicide. AFP PHOTO / Lucky Nxumalo

Pistorius found not guilty of murdering girlfriend

PRETORIA, Sept 11, 2014 AFP – A sobbing Oscar Pistorius was acquitted Thursday of murdering his girlfriend, but the South African celebrity athlete dubbed the "Blade Runner" still faces judgement on a lesser culpable homicide charge.

The trial, watched by a worldwide live television audience, was adjourned until Friday when the 27-year-old Paralympian will hear the verdict on what is equivalent to manslaughter.

The not guilty verdict on the most serious charge left Pistorius – who says he thought he was shooting at an intruder when he killed fashion model Reeva Steenkamp – in tears.

"The state clearly has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder," Judge Thokozile Masipa told the High Court in Pretoria.

"Viewed in its totality the evidence failed to establish that the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased let alone with premeditation," she said.

The double amputee could still face anything from a suspended sentence to a lengthy prison stretch if found guilty of culpable homicide. Or he could be acquitted altogether.

Masipa's introductory comments on the lesser count appeared to lean towards a guilty ruling.

"I am of the view that the accused acted too hastily and used excessive force. In the circumstances, it is clear that his conduct was negligent," she said before adjourning the trial.

South African paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius listens on September 11, 2014 as a judge began at the High Court in Pretoria handing down her verdict on whether he was guilty of the 2013 Valentine's Day murder of his model girlfriend. AFP PHOTO / POOL / KIM LUDBROOK

When he heard the judge clear him of murder, the double-amputee Paralympian sprinter who won global fame when he competed against able-bodied athletes in the London Olympics, sat bowed in the dock, burying his head in his hands.

His sister Aimee rushed from the first row of the public gallery to hug her older brother, who was wiping tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.

After the court adjourned, Pistorius sat at the side of the courtroom, with Aimee on his lap, cradling his head on her chest.

The victim's parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, left the courtroom with stony faces.

Legal experts voiced shock after Pistorius was found not guilty of murder, and predicted the case, which has gripped South Africans for a year, would not rest with the verdict.

South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius (C) leaves the High Court after the verdict hearing of his trial. AFP PHOTO/MUJAHID SAFODIEN

Both defence and prosecution agree that Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a law graduate and fashion model, when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his upmarket Pretoria home.

But the sprinter says he thought he was aiming at an intruder while Steenkamp was safely in bed.

The prosecution says he killed her in a fit of rage after an argument.

Judge Masipa moved quickly through her judgement, rejecting state evidence that pointed to an argument between the couple.

"Neither the evidence of the loving relationship or a relationship turned sour can assist this court to determine whether the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased," she said.

The judge also reviewed evidence by neighbours who testified to hearing shots and screams, saying many "had their facts wrong".

She said the huge media coverage of the case could have affected some witnesses.

"I am of the view that they failed to separate what they knew personally or what they heard from other people or what they gathered from the media," she said.

But Masipa also said Pistorius himself was "evasive" on the stand.

"The accused was a very poor witness," she said.

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