Oscar Pistorius is expected to find out today if he is guilty of the manslaughter of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa yesterday cleared the double-amputee of two murder charges because, she said, he did not intend to kill anyone and could not have seen that the intruder he thought was hiding in his toilet was actually Ms Steenkamp. But she hinted the 27-year-old may be convicted on the alternative charge of culpable homicide, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years in jail, after accusing him of being a poor witness, muddled over his defence and a liar
We expect Judge Masipa to deliver the coup de grace this morning when she resumes her judgement on the shooting and three unrelated gun crimes.
She tore into Pistorius, saying he had been untruthful when he claimed he never intended to fire the 9mm gun he grabbed from his bedside.
What else was he going to do with the weapon as he moved towards the 'intruder', hit him over the head with it?
He would have used the cricket bat to do that.
But intent to shoot was not the same as intent to kill, said Judge Masipa, as she began to consider if Pistorius was negligent, and so guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
She declared he had indeed acted too hastily and used excessive force. His conduct was negligent.
A reasonable man in his position, even with the added vulnerability of his disability, would not have acted in the same way, she said.
He must have realised that by firing into the toilet door, whoever he thought was behind it, was likely to cause injury or death.
For some bizarre reason Judge Masipa stopped suddenly at that point and adjourned until the morning. Nobody in court believes that when she returns she will not tell Pistorius he is guilty of culpable homicide.
bigger question, perhaps, is this: will he accept such a conviction - and a potential short jail sentence - or will he appeal because he still believes he was justified in firing in self defence against an unknown and unseen 'intruder'?
Either way it is now possible that instead of languishing in prison, Pistorius could be among the contenders in the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB