Culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend is one of the charges that Oscar Pistorius, known Olympic hero, has been found guilty of. Pistorius has managed to escape a murder conviction, but he was found guilty for two particular charges, including culpable homicide, and could still end up facing a prison sentence.
Judge Thokozile Masipa has ordered Pistorius to stand up so that he could receive his verdicts on Friday morning. He was very silent as he stood quite calmly by his assigned seat inside the courtroom. He folded his hands humbly in front of him and showed absolutely no emotion as he heard the verdicts.
The family members and close friends of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, were very upset as they heard the final statement that Pistorius was acquitted of all murder charges. Some of her relatives even sobbed loudly, while the others merely sat with grim faces.
A spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority said the authorities were also disappointed by the murder acquittal of Pistorius. However, the spokesperson did mention that the prosecutors have not decided yet whether it is in their best interest to launch an appeal until after the actual sentencing.
A hearing for Pistorius has already been set for October 13 to 16 in order to hear the arguments about the sentence. This includes the evidence of aggravating or mitigating factors that could highly affect the sentence that Pistorius will be getting. For the meantime, however, the judge allowed Pistorius to remain free on bail.
As reported, Pistorius could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison because of culpable homicide. However, there is also a huge possibility that he could escape charges with as little as a suspended sentence if the judge ends up deciding to treat him as a first-time offender. Moreover, Pistorius also presently faces potential jail time for a separate firearms charge, which, in turn, could be an aggravating factor in his culpable homicide sentence.
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