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82 postsOscar Pistorius is a South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete born in Johannesburg in 1986. He is the first amputee to win a World Championships in Athletics medal and the first double-leg amputee to compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics. He holds Paralympic gold medals in the 100, 200, and 400-meter sprints and 100-meter relay, and has competed in the Olympic 400-meter sprint and 400-meter relay. On Oct. 21, 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius leaves the court and begins his sentence at the Kgosi Mampuru II correctional facility.
#OscarPistrious is now at the Kgosi Mampuru correctional facility. He was taken inside through another entrance. GW pic.twitter.com/9uZlGsDJTN
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 21, 2014
Judge Masipa says in the ruling:
It would be a sad day for this country if an impression was created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged and another for the rich and famous.
Righteous anger should not cloud judgment.
The defense says that the law requires him to serve about 10 months in prison, after which he can be placed under house arrest.
Pistorius’s uncle, Arnold, addresses reporters outside the court and confirms the family will not appeal:
We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society.
The amount of time Pistorius will spend in prison is disputed. The prosecution says it will be two years, while the defense says he will be eligible for house arrest after 10 months.
The court will reconvene Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. Eastern) for closing arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence. Judge Masipa is not expected to hand down her decision until next week.
Steenkamp’s family are seeking a custodial sentence, and say the defense’s call for community service and house arrest is inappropriate. Her cousin, Kim Martin:
[Pistorius] needs to pay for what he has done … My family are not people who are seeking revenge, we just feel that to shoot somebody behind a door that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment
The court hears that Pistorius has been paying monthly sums of 6,000 rand ($550) to Steenkamp’s parents as they had been reliant on her earnings before her death. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel:
Those monies will be paid back to the accused in full, every cent.
It also hears that Pistorius had sold his car – his last asset – for 375,000 rand and paid the money into the trust account of June Steenkamp’s lawyer. Nel:
She rejects that, she doesn’t want blood money.
The Steenkamps’ lawyer, Dup de Bruyn, says the payments began in March 2013:
When Reeva passed away, they [the Steenkamp family] were in financial straits. I conveyed this to Mr Pistorius’s lawyer. He came back with an offer of 6,000 a month for 18 months. When he started paying, we only thought it fair to make that public, but the request was from Oscar through his lawyers to keep it confidential. We honoured that request.
Defence witness Joel Maringa, a social worker in South African prisons, says Pistorius should clean a museum in Pretoria for 16 hours a month as part of correctional supervision in place of a jail term. Maringa:
We are basically saying that Oscar Pistorius should not be destroyed … he will get an opportunity to restructure and modify his behaviour
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel responds that Maringa does not understand the seriousness of the charge, after gaining an admission that he does not have an in-depth knowledge of the case.
A court-appointed prison social worker says Pistorius’ punishment for culpable homicide should include three years of house arrest. The recommendation was given at the sentencing hearing. Also speaking at the hearing, Pistorius’ therapist says the athlete is traumatized by Steenkamp’s death, describing signs of post-traumatic stress during their sessions. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel calls the punishment
shockingly inappropriate
The International Paralympic Committee says Pistorius will be allowed to return to competition in the future. IPC media and communications director Craig Spence:
Oscar’s done a great deal for the Paralympic movement, he’s been an inspiration to millions, but obviously his priority now is to see [what] the judge decides. And then if he wishes to resume his athletics career then we wouldn’t step in his way, we would allow him to compete again in the future.
IPC chief executive Xavier Gonzalez:
The trial has not had any negative impact on the Paralympic movement. Since London with Sochi in 2014 we have seen an incredible growth in all aspects of our activities and we look forward very positively to Rio and Pyeong Chang. Oscar was a fundamental ambassador of the Paralympic movement in the period between 2008 and 2012. Since then the Paralympic movement has many other ambassadors and many other athletes that have been recognised globally and we believe that will continue growing as we lead up to 2016.
Pistroius’s aunt and uncle, Arnold and Lois, and his media spokesperson Anneliese Burgess make a statement following the verdict of culpable homicide. They thank Judge Thokozile Masipa for clearing Pistorius of murder, and say the family has always believed his version of events and that the verdict lifts a burden for them. They extend condolences to the family of Steenkamp:
There are no victors in this. We as a family remain deeply affected by the devastating tragedy … It won’t bring Reeva back but our hearts still go out for her family and friends.
Arnold says that the family will make no further comment while legal proceedings remain ongoing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa and her two deputies, Barry Roux and Gerrie Nel, agree to a sentencing date for Pistorius of Oct. 13. Masipa asks Roux to talk to Arnold Pistorius, Oscar’s uncle who he has been staying with throughout the trial, to make sure there are ‘no further complications’ when the court resumes for sentencing.
Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide in the Pretoria high court. The verdict means that he could face a judgement ranging from a suspended sentence up to 15 years in a South African prison. Judge Thokozile Masipa says that he was negligent when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door in his house at what he believed was an intruder, killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp:
A reasonable person, with a similar disability, would have foreseen that the person behind the door would be killed, and the accused failed to take action to avoid this.
Pistorius turns to his family after the verdict is read. Members of Steenkamp’s family comfort each other. Judge Masipa clarifies that although the state does not have to prove a motive for murder, there is no evidence in front of the court to say that Pistorius wanted to kill Steenkamp. He is acquitted of two unrelated charges of firing a firearm through a sunroof and of illegal possession of ammunition, but found guilty on a third of illegally discharging a firearm in a crowded restaurant in January 2013, weeks before Steenkamp’s death.
Judge Masipa adjourns the hearing in the Pretoria high court until Friday, delaying her final verdict by a day. After ruling Pistorius not guilty of premeditated murder and murder without premeditation, the next most serious charge he faces is culpable homicide (manslaughter). Prior to the adjournment she says that a ‘reasonable person’ would have foreseen that the person inside the locked toilet cubicle – which the defence says Pistorius believed was an intruder – would have been killed by firing through the door:
[Pistorius acted] too hastily and used excessive force … It is clear his conduct was negligent.
Judge Thokozile Masipa rules in the Pretoria high court that Pistorius is not guilty of murder:
Viewed in its totality, the evidence failed to establish that the accused had the requisite intention to kill the deceased, let alone with premeditation. The accused therefore cannot be found guilty of murder.
A verdict of murder by dolus eventualis (murder without premeditation) would require establishing that Pistorius foresaw that his actions in firing four shots into the door could have led to the death of the person behind it, but went ahead anyway. Pistorius’s testimony is that he believed Steenkamp was in the bedroom, and his account of this has remained consistent since the night of the shooting. Judge Masipa:
[It is] highly improbable the accused would have made this up so quickly.
Judge Thokozile Masipa rules Pistorius is not guilty of premeditated murder in the Pretoria high court hearing over the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp. The ruling comes after a lengthy reading of the evidence supporting the verdict. Pistorius had faced a mandatory life sentence if found guilty, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years. With the court still in session, he can still be found guilty of murder, or of other charges relating to firearm possession. In her ruling Judge Masipa says the evidence for premeditated murder was ‘purely circumstantial.’
Pistorius says that he wants tougher rules from the IPC on blades, claiming that Oliveira’s blades are too long after he takes the gold in 21.45 seconds to Pistorius’s 21.52. Pistorius:
We are not running in a fair race here. I don’t know how you can come back, watching the replay, from eight metres behind on the 100 to win. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Not taking away from Alan’s performance, but these guys are a lot taller and you can’t compete. I gave it my best. The guys are just running ridiculous times and they’re able to do so.
Oliveira:
The length of my blades is all right. I went through all the procedures with the referees. I believe Pistorius also knows that. He is not a bad loser, he is a great athlete. I am just sad he said my blades were too big. For me, he is a really great idol and to hear that from a great idol is difficult.
After the prosecution and defense end their final arguments Judge Thokozile Masipa announces she will give a verdict on 11 September 2014.
After the closing arguments of his murder trial, Pistorius sends out a tweet:
Thank you to my loved ones and those that have been there for me, who have picked me up and helped me through everything.
— Oscar Pistorius (@OscarPistorius) August 8, 2014
The five-month long trial concludes today, and Judge Thokozile Masipa and two assessors will begin deliberations immediately. The judge will announce the verdict on September 11, 2014.
Carl Pistorius, brother of Oscar, is involved in a head on collision in South Africa. Carl has been seen regularly during his brother’s murder trial. It is understood that a car swerved out in front of him colliding with his vehicle. Mr Pistorius is believed to have suffered numerous fractures.