On Friday morning, South African Judge Thokozile Masipa finished reading her nearly 100 page ruling, and announced Oscar Pistorius guilty of the charge of culpable homicide. The decision was reportedly unanimously agreed upon by Judge Masipa and her two legal assessors.
Finding Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide means that the court determined Pistorius acted negligently in causing the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. “Cuplable Homicide” in the South African legal system is similar to a charge of manslaughter in the United States.
The Court will being its sentencing hearing in October, where the 27 year old Pistorius could be sentenced anywhere from a fine to up to 15 years in prison.
Casey Reiter is an associate attorney at Stuart R. Manoff & Associates, P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida, practicing in the areas of Criminal Defense and Marital Law.
