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Having shot another human being dead, Oscar Pistorius is on the precipice of leaving a South African courtroom today a free man.
Over six months since the trial began, on Thursday Judge Thokozile Masipa found Pistorius not guilty on charges of premeditated murder and common-law murder.
Yet Reeva Steenkamp is dead – she has been for over 18 months – after Pistorius shot her three times through his bathroom door.
The charge of premeditated murder was always going to be a tough ask for the prosecution to prove. The evidence of neighbours and other witnesses were largely dismissed by Judge Masipa, who said almost all evidence presented was circumstantial.
“The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder,” she said. “There are just not enough facts to support such a finding.”
Stories emerged during the prosecution’s case of Pistorius firing a gun in a crowded restaurant and through the sun roof of a moving car. But while both stories showed Pistorius could be reckless with a firearm, that’s hardly evidence of being a cold-blooded, calculating killer.
What was a surprise was Judge Masipa’s finding that Pistorius was also not guilty on the charge of common-law murder.
During her verdict, Judge Masipa spoke of what an unreliable witness Pistorius was on the stand. The way he had been calm and composed while the defence had questioned him but got tetchy and argumentative under cross-examination. That he was more interested in debating the phrasing of the question than answering it truthfully.
However, Judge Masipa also said that a poor performance in the witness box does not necessarily equate to guilt.
Judge Masipa went on to note the “peculiar circumstances” under which Reeva had been killed. Why if Pistorius had been concerned about an intruder entering through the bathroom window he hadn’t checked on Reeva first.
Why he didn’t wait to hear a response from her before approaching the bathroom door with a gun in hand. Why he felt the need to shoot through the door four times, rather than just once, before going to check on Reeva.
And while Pistorius slept with a firearm under his pillow, he had not awoken to a figure standing over his bed, presenting an immediate threat.
So why had he felt the need to go straight to the bathroom gun in hand, rather than call the police, or even gone to his balcony to scream for help?
Yet having presented all these issues, Judge Masipa still found that “the evidence failed to prove the accused had intention.”
Despite the fact Pistorius shot four times, “Clearly he did not objectively foresee this as a possibility that he would kill the person behind the door.”
Today Judge Masipa will present the final aspect of her verdict, whether Pistorius is guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter), as well as three weapons-related charges.
Guilt on the culpable homicide charge would mean Pistorius did not mean to kill but had not acted as a reasonable person would in such a situation.
I haven’t been privy to all 41 days of testimony and 352 pages of evidence, so we can take it that Judge Masipa’s findings to this point are consistent with the law.
The guy gets up in the middle of the night worried there’s someone in the house. Rather than check if the noise in the bathroom is the only other person who had been in the house when he went to bed, he takes his gun and opens fire on the door.
He doesn’t shoot once, twice, or three times but offloads four rounds through the door. Three hit the person on the other side; said person is – as surely any reasonable person would have assumed – the only other person who had been in the house.
Hundreds of mitigating factors led Judge Masipa to find none of these actions were those of a man who had premeditated murder, nor even one who intended to kill at all. Can she conclude they were the actions of a reasonable person who had heard a window opening?
Most news networks in the Western world live streamed Judge Masipa’s verdict and will do so again today.
We’ve watched this case unfold in the most public forum in the history of mankind, the internet, so we’ve all got our opinions on whether Pistorius is guilty or not.
What isn’t a matter of opinion is that Reeva Steenkamp is dead, and Oscar Pistorius killed her.
So Roarers, what do you think? Will Oscar Pistorius be found guilty of manslaughter, does he deserve to go free, or is the fact he hasn’t been found guilty of murder a terrible miscarriage of justice?
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