Oscar Pistorius may have been cleared of murder charges for killing his girlfriend, Reva Steenkamp but the sprint runner still faces charges of culpable homicide based on South African laws. What exactly is the difference between culpable homicide and murder?
On Thursday, South African Judge Thokozile Masipa cleared Oscar Pistorius of premeditated murder. However, the Olympic and Paralympic sprint runner still faces charges on culpable homicide.
"The accused therefore cannot be found guilty of murder dolus eventualis... that however is not the end of the matter as culpable homicide is a competent verdict," stated Judge Masipa.
In South Africa, culpable homicide is defined as the "unlawful negligent killing of a human being," which is the equivalent of manslaughter in Britain. Notably, premeditated murder requires planning, which is a big difference from that of culpable homicide. Convicted murders get a sentence of life imprisonment whereas charges on culpable homicide get sentenced 15 years imprisonment.
Reva Steenkamp, Pistorius' girlfriend, died after getting hit in the hip area, arm and head with hollow-point bullets from the athlete's 9 mm pistol. Pistorius had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder and had shots fired at the toilet door in his home. According to Jude Masipa, Pistorius could have avoided the death of Steenkamp had he taken other precautions such as calling security at his estate.
Witness accounts claim to have heard the screams of woman, which was part of the prosecution's case. However, defense stated it was Pistorius who had screamed after he discovered to have shot Steenkamp.
In addition to the witness accounts of a woman's scream at Pistorius' estate, Judge Masipa disregarded the text messages between Pistorius and Steenkamp. Messages presented from the prosecutors indicated tension between the couple. On the other hand, messages presented by the defense showed affection between Steenkamp and Pistorius. Text messages from both defense and prosecutors as evidence have been disregarded by Judge Masipa.
The case has been postponed until the next hearing.
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