PRETORIA, South Africa – While Oscar Pistorius was found not guilty of murder, but convicted of culpable homicide, a lesser charge that comes with no minimum jail sentence, his family said Friday there are "no victors" coming out of Courtroom GD.
"We as a family remain deeply affected by the devastating tragedy," Arnold Pistorius, the Paralympian's uncle, said outside the courtroom. "And it won’t bring Reeva [Steenkamp] back. But our hearts still go out for her family and friends.”
After 41 days of testimony spanning more than five months, the so-called trial of the century in South Africa is over. Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down her decision Friday, a day after revealing to a packed courthouse and worldwide television audience that no, she would not find Pistorius guilty of murder – premeditated or otherwise. Instead, her determination is that the death of the 29-year-old Steenkamp in the early morning hours of Valentine's Day last year was a tragic accident; that while Pistorius "acted hastily and used excessive force," he did not show intent to kill his girlfriend.
Asking Pistorius to stand, Masipa read her decision.
Not guilty of murder. "Instead," Masipa said, as Pistorius, reactionless, looked on, "he's found guilty of culpable homicide."
As Masipa read the verdict, Steenkamp’s parents remained silent, their faces drawn. Steenkamp’s cousin Kim began sobbing in the public gallery.
Pistorius, 27, also faced three gun charges – two for discharging a gun in public, one for illegal possession of ammunition. Masipa found him guilty of one of those charges – negligently handling a firearm in a restaurant.
Per South African law, the verdict of culpable homicide carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, but does not call for a minimum sentence. The gun charge carries no minimum sentence, meaning Pistorius could receive no jail time whatsoever.
