It’s been a long and treacherous race, but it’s finally come to an end!
After a trial that consisted of 6 and a half weeks of testimonies from 37 witnesses, former Olympian Oscar Pistorius was found NOT GUILTY by judge Thokozile Masipa for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Although Oscar has avoided a guilty ruling on two of the harshest charges, he was told by the judge in the case that he could still been found guilty on a lesser charge of “culpable homicide.”
The incident occurred on Valentine’s Day in 2013 when the sprinter shot and killed his girlfriend in his South African home.
Oscar has claimed he mistook his girlfriend Reeva for an intruder and fired at her in self defense. However, multiple neighbors testified saying they heard arguing and shouting before the shots were fired.
The prosecution used the neighbors’ testimony and text messages from the former couple to prove that Oscar and Reeva’s relationship were “on the rocks,” however the judge believed this evidence – including Oscar’s defense team’s proof of texts that showed the two being amicable towards each other – to be completely irrelevant!
Here’s what the judge said:
“In my view, none of this evidence, from the state or defense, proves anything. Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable sometimes.”
She also ruled that the prosecution had failed in their attempts to prove that Mr. Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder and said:
“The state clearly has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are not enough facts.”
By dismissing the two most serious charges – premeditated murder and “murder” – the judge wiped away the possibility of Oscar Pistorius going to prison for a crazy amount of time.
Although the charge he’s still facing – culpable homicide – could still place him in jail – the maximum length of time for that charge is fifteen years.
Which is WAY less than what he was facing before the judge dismissed the other two charges.
We imagine this decision will be widely discussed over the next few days as this case has absolutely been followed very closely by not only folks in South Africa but by many people from around the world.
We wonder how people will be feeling about this latest crucial decision by the judge in this landmark case!
[Image via AP Images.]
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