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Oscar Pistorius
will return to the high court in Pretoria to hear the judge's verdict (AP)
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Athlete Oscar Pistorius is facing jail after being
found guilty of the manslaughter of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, AP reports.
South African High Court judge Thokozile Masipa had
earlier said the 27-year-old Olympian had been "negligent" in the
early hours of Valentine's Day last year when he fatally shot the law
graduate-turned-model.
Pistorius always admitted being responsible for her
death at his home in Pretoria, but said he mistook his partner for intruders
and fired four bullets from his 9mm pistol through the toilet cubicle.
The judge yesterday dismissed prosecution claims that
the double-amputee intentionally killed the 29-year-old, saying Pistorius could
not be convicted of either pre-meditated or second-degree murder.
But she returned to court this morning to convict him
of culpable homicide - the South African equivalent of the UK's manslaughter
charge - and one gun charge relating to a restaurant shooting.
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Escorted by police and security, Oscar
Pistorius, center, makes his way through media to enter the court in Pretoria,
South Africa, Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Pistorius has been dramatically cleared
of the most serious charges against him over the shooting of his girlfriend,
Reeva Steenkamp."There are not enough facts to prove such a finding,"
Judge Thokozile Masipa said as she found him not guilty of premeditated murder.
(AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
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Pistorius stood with his hands crossed to hear the
verdict but showed no emotion.
Judge Masipa told the hushed courtroom: "Having
regard to the totality of this evidence in this matter, the unanimous decision
of this court is the following: on count one, murder ... the accused found not
guilty and is discharged.
"Instead he is found guilty of culpable
homicide."
Yesterday, on the first day of delivering her verdict,
the judge criticized Pistorius for acting hastily when he shot Ms Steenkamp.
She said: "If the accused, for example, had
awoken in the middle of the night and in darkness seen a silhouette by his bed
and in a panic shot at that figure, only to find it was the deceased, his
conduct would have been understandable and perhaps excusable."
She added: "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.
"The accused knew there was a person behind the
toilet door, he chose to use a firearm.
"I
am of the view the accused acted too hastily and used too much force. It is
clear his conduct is negligent."
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