Here's what we know: Paralympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, more than a year and a half ago in his Pretoria home. What we don't know is "why?" The answer to that question will be decided by Judge Thokozile Masipa on Thursday in a South African courtroom.
Pistorius claims he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder in the wee hours of Valentine's day morning 2013. The defense believes Pistorius killed his girlfriend intentinally after an argument led Reeva to run to the toilet for safety before Pistorius followed her there and shot her four times.
Currently, Judge Masipa is explaining to the court in great detail, the summaries of each and every one of the 37 witnesses that appeared in the year long courtroom battle. Judge Masipa disects each summary one by one ascertaining what she believes to be the most logical and realistic possibilities from each one.
Once Judge Masipa reads through each and every witness testimony (inlcuding Pistorius's himself), she will read and explain her verdict. The possible charges if Pistorius is found guilty is as follows:
1. Premediated murder: This is the most serious of all the charges and could potentially face a sentence of life in prison and no less than 25 years in prison. This is the charge the defense is pushing for, and would mean that Judge Masipa believes that Oscar intentionally killed Reeva.
2. Murder: This is a slightly lesser charge than premeditated murder. This charge would mean that Judge Masipa believes that Pistorius intentionally tried to kill the person who was locked in the toilet that morning, but that he did not know that it was Reeva locked inside. Essentially, if Pistorius is found guilty of this charge, she believes he did murder Reeva, but did not plan to do so ahead of time. If found guilty of this charge, Pistorius could face 15 years in prison or less.
3. Culpable Homicide: This charge is most comparable to manslaughter here in the United States. If Pistorius is found guilty of this charge, Judge Masipa believes that Pistorius did indeed kill Reeva (as he has already admitted to) but that it was an accident. The shocking twist if she finds him guilty of this charge, could be that Judge Masipa believes Pistorius felt he was in danger that night, and given the high crime rate in South Africa, and his celebrtity stature, that he acted in self-defense and therefore would be aquitted of all charges.
4. Firearm Charges: There are also three firearm charges against Oscar Pistorius that could add up to some jail time if found guilty. During the trial, it was revealed that Pistorius shot a firearm at a crowded restaurant in Johannesburg, through the roof of his car after being pulled over by the police, he is also accused of possessing illegal ammunation, the very ammunition that was used to kill Reeva. Each charge contains a maximum of 5 years in prison.
Similar to the United States, regardless of the verdict, both the defense and prosecution would have the opportunity to appeal the verdict and most likely will.
UPDATE: Halfway through Judge Masipa's reading of the verdict, she has essentially eliminated the charge of premediated murder and possibly murder. Judge Masipa in reading back the testimony of the neighbors who claimed to have witnessed Reeva screan and heard the gun shots believes that it was not possible for them to hear Reeva scream due to the way she was fatally shot.
Judge Masipa also does not appear to believe the prosecution's chain of events that there was an argument beforehand and that Reeva ran to the bathroom for protection and was chased there by Pistorius who shot her four times. Just before adjourning for a "tea break", Judge Masipa began to read Pistorius' own testimony and found some holes in his version of the events as they occured.
As of right now, it appears that there is a likely possibility of Oscar Pistorius being aquitted of all charges against him. There is another possibility that he is found guilty of "Culpable Homicide" and perhaps some of the firearms charges and does face certain jail time. What that sentence will be or how long he serves his time however is stll unknown.
To watch the live stream inside the courtroom, please click play on the video below:
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