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| Oscar Pistorius trial verdict: 'Is he a reasonable man?' The legal question that will seal athlete's fate | Oscar Pistorius trial verdict: 'Is he a reasonable man?' The legal question that will seal athlete's fate |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Judge Thokozile Masipa spoke all day, and will likely do so again today, but it took her barely minutes to throw out the prosecution’s case against Oscar Pistorius. | Judge Thokozile Masipa spoke all day, and will likely do so again today, but it took her barely minutes to throw out the prosecution’s case against Oscar Pistorius. |
| The athlete had been “hasty”, “negligent” and had “used excessive force”, she said – and he may yet face jail – but he was not guilty of murder. | The athlete had been “hasty”, “negligent” and had “used excessive force”, she said – and he may yet face jail – but he was not guilty of murder. |
| What he will almost certainly be found guilty of is culpable homicide, when the judge resumes reading out her judgment this morning. | What he will almost certainly be found guilty of is culpable homicide, when the judge resumes reading out her judgment this morning. |
| The athlete, she said, had lied in the witness box, but then added: “The conclusion that because a witness is untruthful, he is probably guilty, must be guided against, because a false statement does not always justify the most extreme conclusion,” she said. | The athlete, she said, had lied in the witness box, but then added: “The conclusion that because a witness is untruthful, he is probably guilty, must be guided against, because a false statement does not always justify the most extreme conclusion,” she said. |
| In her hours-long assessment of witness evidence, she called Mr Pistorius a “very poor witness” who had lost his composure on the stand and was at times “evasive.” But Judge Masipa emphasised that did not mean he was guilty of murder. | In her hours-long assessment of witness evidence, she called Mr Pistorius a “very poor witness” who had lost his composure on the stand and was at times “evasive.” But Judge Masipa emphasised that did not mean he was guilty of murder. |
| State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel spent what added up to several weeks, building together a narrative, from circumstantial evidence, that would prove Oscar Pistorius had knowingly shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp following an argument. But almost all of the evidence – from the sound heard by the neighbours, the contents of Ms Steenkamp’s stomach at the time of death, to the angry and fearful messages she sent to Mr Pistorius – the judge declared inadmissible. | State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel spent what added up to several weeks, building together a narrative, from circumstantial evidence, that would prove Oscar Pistorius had knowingly shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp following an argument. But almost all of the evidence – from the sound heard by the neighbours, the contents of Ms Steenkamp’s stomach at the time of death, to the angry and fearful messages she sent to Mr Pistorius – the judge declared inadmissible. |
| Prosecutors had submitted text messages that showed tension between the couple while the defence submitted messages that indicated mutual affection. That evidence, the judge said, doesn’t prove anything. | Prosecutors had submitted text messages that showed tension between the couple while the defence submitted messages that indicated mutual affection. That evidence, the judge said, doesn’t prove anything. |
| “Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle,” she said. | “Normal relationships are dynamic and unpredictable most of the time, while human beings are fickle,” she said. |
| “Viewed in its totality the evidence failed to establish that the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased, let alone with premeditation,” she told the Pretoria court. | “Viewed in its totality the evidence failed to establish that the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased, let alone with premeditation,” she told the Pretoria court. |
| “The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are just not enough facts.” | “The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder. There are just not enough facts.” |
| Instead she built a painstaking timeline of events at the athlete’s former home around the few irrefutable facts available – the mobile phone records of the athlete and his neighbours as they sought out help in the moments after Ms Steenkamp was fatally shot. | Instead she built a painstaking timeline of events at the athlete’s former home around the few irrefutable facts available – the mobile phone records of the athlete and his neighbours as they sought out help in the moments after Ms Steenkamp was fatally shot. |
| “Most witnesses had their facts wrong.” she said. “I am of the view that they failed to separate what they knew personally, or what they heard from other people, or what they gathered from the media.” | “Most witnesses had their facts wrong.” she said. “I am of the view that they failed to separate what they knew personally, or what they heard from other people, or what they gathered from the media.” |
| But in order to be entirely acquitted, Pistorius has to pass what South African law calls the “reasonable man” test – that his actions on believing an intruder was in his bathroom were reasonable, and on this he failed in every aspect. | But in order to be entirely acquitted, Pistorius has to pass what South African law calls the “reasonable man” test – that his actions on believing an intruder was in his bathroom were reasonable, and on this he failed in every aspect. |
| “He took a conscious decision,” she said. “He knew where he kept his firearm and he knew where his bathroom was. This is inconsistent with lack of criminal capacity.” | “He took a conscious decision,” she said. “He knew where he kept his firearm and he knew where his bathroom was. This is inconsistent with lack of criminal capacity.” |
| Judge Thokozile Masipa reads her verdict during the Oscar Pistorius trial in Pretoria (EPA) She accepted the athlete’s contention that he did not foresee that the person in the toilet cubicle would be killed, when he fired four shots through it, a decision that prevented conviction on the lesser, common law murder charge. | |
| “Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he would kill the person behind the door – let alone the deceased – as he thought she was in the bedroom,” she said. But a reasonable man, she said, would have acted differently. | “Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he would kill the person behind the door – let alone the deceased – as he thought she was in the bedroom,” she said. But a reasonable man, she said, would have acted differently. |
| “The accused could not have been expected to run from the danger. However there were other means available to him to deal with what he considered was a threat to his life,” she said. | “The accused could not have been expected to run from the danger. However there were other means available to him to deal with what he considered was a threat to his life,” she said. |
| “All the accused had to do was to pick up his cell phone to call security or the police… He could have run to the balcony and screamed. There is no reason, or no explanation, why he could not do so before he ventured into the bathroom with a loaded firearm… Did the accused fail to take steps he should have taken? Yes,” Masipa said. “He failed to take any steps to avoid the death.” | |
| She said many people in South Africa had been victims of violent crime, “but they have not resorted to sleeping with firearm a under their pillows.” | She said many people in South Africa had been victims of violent crime, “but they have not resorted to sleeping with firearm a under their pillows.” |
| The athlete broke down in tears, rocking occasionally on the hard wooden bench of the dock, as the judgment was read out, and expressed little emotion when he was cleared of murder, shortly before the court rose for lunch. Alongside him was his brother Carl, sitting in a wheelchair, both his legs stretched out in front of him in casts, having suffered severe injuries in a head-on car accident last month. | The athlete broke down in tears, rocking occasionally on the hard wooden bench of the dock, as the judgment was read out, and expressed little emotion when he was cleared of murder, shortly before the court rose for lunch. Alongside him was his brother Carl, sitting in a wheelchair, both his legs stretched out in front of him in casts, having suffered severe injuries in a head-on car accident last month. |
| Neither his father Henke, nor Reeva Steenkamp’s parents Barry and June, gave much away, as the trial that has dragged on for more than six months entered its most crucial moments. Miss Steenkamp’s former flatmates Gina and Kim Myers were also in court, with their mother Desi, who had hosted the model when she first moved to Johannesburg. | Neither his father Henke, nor Reeva Steenkamp’s parents Barry and June, gave much away, as the trial that has dragged on for more than six months entered its most crucial moments. Miss Steenkamp’s former flatmates Gina and Kim Myers were also in court, with their mother Desi, who had hosted the model when she first moved to Johannesburg. |
| By saying Mr Pistorius’s actions were “unlawful”, Judge Masipa all but confirmed that she will find him guilty of culpable homicide – South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter. If she does so, she will be required to hear mitigation from the defence before deciding on a sentence, that is likely to focus on the athlete’s disability. | By saying Mr Pistorius’s actions were “unlawful”, Judge Masipa all but confirmed that she will find him guilty of culpable homicide – South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter. If she does so, she will be required to hear mitigation from the defence before deciding on a sentence, that is likely to focus on the athlete’s disability. |
| Oscar Pistorius cries as the judge reads out the verdict during his murder trial (Getty Images) Some South African legal experts have suggested the state may have grounds to appeal on the lesser murder charge. | Oscar Pistorius cries as the judge reads out the verdict during his murder trial (Getty Images) Some South African legal experts have suggested the state may have grounds to appeal on the lesser murder charge. |
| “I think the verdict on premeditated murder is acceptable and well reasoned and not a surprise,” said Stephen Tuson, a law professor at Johannesburg’s University of Witwatersrand. | “I think the verdict on premeditated murder is acceptable and well reasoned and not a surprise,” said Stephen Tuson, a law professor at Johannesburg’s University of Witwatersrand. |
| “However, on dolus eventualis [common murder], I think the state would arguably be able to appeal,” he added, referring to the Latin term for responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of one’s actions. The ANC Women’s League, who have been an ever present in courtroom GD over the last six months, campaigned in force outside the court building. Ms Steenkamp’s death had shone a light on South Africa’s appalling rates of what they call “intimate femicide” – the murder of a woman by the man she lives with. But in rejecting the murder charge, and essentially believing that Mr Pistorius thought he was shooting at an intruder, the relevance of this case in that context is substantially diminished. | “However, on dolus eventualis [common murder], I think the state would arguably be able to appeal,” he added, referring to the Latin term for responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of one’s actions. The ANC Women’s League, who have been an ever present in courtroom GD over the last six months, campaigned in force outside the court building. Ms Steenkamp’s death had shone a light on South Africa’s appalling rates of what they call “intimate femicide” – the murder of a woman by the man she lives with. But in rejecting the murder charge, and essentially believing that Mr Pistorius thought he was shooting at an intruder, the relevance of this case in that context is substantially diminished. |
| Lois Pistorius and Arnold Pistorius, the aunt and uncle of Oscar Pistorius, leave court (Getty Images) It is also certainly reasonable to question, given this trial has been a very public test of South African justice itself, whether a less expensively assembled defence would have managed to stand firm in the face of such a pugnacious prosecution. | Lois Pistorius and Arnold Pistorius, the aunt and uncle of Oscar Pistorius, leave court (Getty Images) It is also certainly reasonable to question, given this trial has been a very public test of South African justice itself, whether a less expensively assembled defence would have managed to stand firm in the face of such a pugnacious prosecution. |
| Today, Judge Masipa is also expected to reach verdicts on the three other lesser gun charges Mr Pistorius faces, two of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place, and one of possessing unlicensed ammunition. | Today, Judge Masipa is also expected to reach verdicts on the three other lesser gun charges Mr Pistorius faces, two of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place, and one of possessing unlicensed ammunition. |
| All three carry maximum sentences of five to 15 years in jail, but a fine is seen as a far more likely punishment if the athlete is found guilty. | All three carry maximum sentences of five to 15 years in jail, but a fine is seen as a far more likely punishment if the athlete is found guilty. |