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16 - 23 September 2014
Issue 583
41565
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What’s next for Pistorius?
|After dismissing charges of murder, and two lesser charges involving firearms and ammunition, Pistorius was found to be negligent on the fateful night of Reeva Steenkamp’s death, resulting in a verdict of culpable homicide
sentence would be left to her sole discretion. The majority of contemporary verdicts of Culpable Homicide in South Africa have only ever received lesser prison sentences, reaching from four to eight years. These lenient sentences have largely been justified on account of mitigating circumstances. With Judge Masipa already acknowledging a host of extenuating circumstances in the case of Oscar Pistorius, it would be difficult to justify giving him the maximum prison sentence of 15 years. The Pistorius defense team would also fight every possible appeal if a harsh prison sentence was given.
by Sertan Sanderson AND DEVA LEE “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.” — Judge Masipa With these words, Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered her culpable homicide verdict on Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius in the murder case of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The basis for the verdict built on the evidence that Pistorius had acted negligently when firing four shots at her while she was situated behind his bathroom door. According to the judge, a reasonable person would have acted in a way that would avoid the killing of the person behind the door, as she found that Pistorius had not taken those steps. The beginning of the dates for his sentencing hearings were announced for October and Pistorius was granted an extension of his current bail conditions. At the end of day one on Thursday, Judge Masipa had left the world surprised when she ruled out murder (as well as premeditated murder), announcing that there had been no demonstrable intent to kill – which provides the main prerequisite for a murder conviction. Judge Masipa addeded on day two that the prosecution had also failed to
|Zimbabwean artist Craig Wylie’s artwork, EW (hood) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Threadneedle Prize, which awards the best contemporary painting and sculpture by artists working in the UK. Read our interview with him on page 8
deliver proof of any motive. But beyond her culpable homicide verdict, Pistorius has also been found guilty of a firearms charge, which by itself can carry a prison sentence of
up to five years under South African law. With two verdicts now hanging over his head, Oscar Pistorius’ future will remain uncertain until the judge returns with a sentence.
Prison Pistorius faces up to 15 years in prison for the culpable homicide charge. There is no minimum sentence set for this verdict, and the length of the
Suspended Sentence It might also turn out that Judge Masipa cannot find it justifiable to send Pistorius to jail, forcing him to report to parole officers for years to come under a Suspended Sentence. He would have to spend years under strict parole controls, such as not being allowed to leave SA to compete in athletics championships. But by giving him a Suspended Sentence, Judge Masipa would basically leave it up to Pistorius to prove to the world that he is indeed capable of walking on the right side of the law in the future. Showing reformed behaviour is key to Suspended Sentences, which with Oscar’s track record with guns might be problematic.
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