Guilty: Pistorius faces jail as he’s convicted of culpable homicide

Oscar Pistorius is facing jail after being convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa said the double amputee had acted negligently when he fired four shots into a toilet door, killing the 29-year-old model who was behind it. But she decided to extend his bail which means he will not detained in custody. He will be sentenced on October 13. Pistorius, 27, showed little emotion as the guilty verdict of culpable homicide was handed down in North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The Paralympian and Olympian, dubbed Blade Runner due to his prosthetic limbs, had always admitted he shot Ms Steenkamp at his luxury Pretoria home but said he mistook her for an intruder.

The accused had reasonable time to think, reflect and conduct himself. I’m not persuaded that a reasonable person with the same disability would have fired the four shots.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, addressing the court yesterday

Judge Masipa criticised Pistorius’ decision to reach for his gun and shoot rather than raise the alarm or fire a warning shot. She has also accused him of being a poor witness, muddled over his defence and a liar. On Thursday, the athlete broke down in the courtroom as he was cleared of two, more serious, murder charges over the shooting. The judge said he did not intend to kill anyone and could not have seen that the intruder he thought was hiding in his toilet was actually Ms Steenkamp.

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