Pistorius Walks Free on Bail After Manslaughter Conviction

By Paul Burkhardt and Christopher Spillane

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg’s Guy Johnson reports that Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius has been convicted of culpable homicide in the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He speaks on “The Pulse.”

Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic gold medalist, was freed on bail after he was convicted of manslaughter for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and of firing a gun in a crowded restaurant.
Judge Thokozile Masipa extended his bail of 1 million rand ($91,000) at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital today, and scheduled his sentencing hearing to start on Oct. 13. His punishment for culpable homicide, or manslaughter, could range from a fine to as many as 15 years in jail.
“The accused acted negligently when he fired shots into the toilet door knowing that there was someone behind the door and that there was very little room in which to maneuver,” Masipa said. “A reasonable person, therefore, in the position of the accused with similar disability would have foreseen the possibility that whoever was behind the door might be killed by the shots.”
Known as the Blade Runner because of his
J-shaped prosthetic running blades, Pistorius was the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics. His trial drew a worldwide audience and derailed the running career of the winner of six Paralympic gold medals and cost Pistorius sponsorship deals with Nike Inc. (NKE) and Luxottica Group SpA (LUX)’s Oakley.

Photographer: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images

South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria on Sept. 12, 2014.

Pistorius shot four hollow-point bullets through a locked toilet door, killing Steenkamp, whom he said he mistakenly believed was an intruder in his home in the early hours of the morning on Feb. 14, last year.

‘Not Justice’

Masipa, 66, acquitted Pistorius on charges of murder and two gun-related offenses.
“There is no basis for this court to make inferences why the accused would want to kill the deceased,” Masipa said. “It could not be said that he foresaw that either the deceased or anyone else for that matter might be killed when he fired the shots at the toilet door.”
Police struggled to contain a crowd of people clamoring around Pistorius as he left the court. The athlete hugged his sister, Aimee, in the dock after the verdict, while Reeva’s mother, June Steenkamp, comforted a family member.
“This verdict is not justice for Reeva,” June Steenkamp told NBC News in an interview. “He shot through the door and I can’t believe that they believe it was an accident.”
Pistorius may serve time in prison, said Ulrich Roux, a director at Johannesburg-based BDK Attorneys.

Probable Sentence

“Probably you’re looking at three to four years, but it’s very difficult to predict as one will have to wait to see what arguments both sides come up with,” Roux said by phone.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/AFP/Getty Images)

A picture taken on January 26, 2013 shows Olympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius posing next... Read More

Arnold Pistorius, Oscar’s uncle and family spokesman, said the acquittal on the murder charges was “a big burden off our shoulders and Oscar.”
“We always knew the facts of the matter and we had never any doubt in Oscar’s version of this tragic incident,” he told reporters in the court after the adjournment.
The state may appeal the verdict by arguing that Masipa misinterpreted the law on the charge of “dolus eventualis,” or murder, Stephen Tuson, an adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said by phone.
“The state may well wish to take the verdict on the murder charge on appeal,” he said. “They’re going to have to demonstrate to an appeal court that there was an error of law by the judge in her interpretation of what the law dolus eventualis is.”
The National Prosecuting Authority is “disappointed” with the verdict and will consider its options after the sentencing, the agency responsible for deciding whether or not to appeal the judgment said in a statement.