Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp.
The stunning development was revealed as Judge Thokozile Masipa read her summation of the evidence Thursday in front of a packed courthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, and a worldwide television audience.
Masipa has yet to hand down her final decision, which will come Friday. She did reveal in the waning moments of Thursday’s summation that she determined Pistorious to have been “negligent,” which means he could still be found guilty of culpable homicide, a conviction that comes with a maximum of 15 years in prison but carries no mandatory jail sentence.
“He acted too hastily and used excessive force,” Masipa said.
Pistorius also faces gun charges that carry potential prison sentences.
But a murder charge is out, for the time being anyway. The prosecution can appeal the decision and, if they do, Pistorius could still be convicted of murder, according to legal experts contacted by Yahoo Sports.
All along, the prosecution pressed for a conviction for cold-blooded murder. But the Blade Runner has always maintained it was a tragic accident, that he shot his girlfriend in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s morning last year in a moment of terror, believing that he was protecting them both from an intruder locked behind a bathroom door.
In her summation, Masipa said the prosecution “failed to show requisite intention to kill the deceased, let alone premeditation.”
Masipa called Pistorius a “very poor witness,” saying he was “evasive” in the face of prosecution questioning. Still, in her opinion that did not warrant a guilty verdict on the charge of premeditated murder, or even dolus eventualis – the grey area between premeditated murder and culpable homicide.
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