Trial of Oscar Pistorius
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The trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp and several gun-related charges (The State vs Oscar Pistorius)[1][2] in the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria opened on 3 March 2014. Pistorius was a leading South African runner who won attention as an athlete with a disability competing at a high level, including at multiple Paralympic Games and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Steenkamp, a model, had been Pistorius's girlfriend for three months. In the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013, Steenkamp was shot and killed by Pistorius at his Pretoria home.[3][4][5] Pistorius acknowledged that he shot Steenkamp, but he said that he mistook her for an intruder.[6] Pistorius was taken into police custody and was formally charged with murder in a Pretoria court on 15 February 2013.[7][8][9] The entire trial was broadcast live via audio, and parts of the trial were also broadcast live via television.[10][11][12]
The State vs Oscar Pistorius | |
---|---|
Court | Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa in Pretoria |
Decided | 12 September 2014 (2014-09-12) |
Transcript(s) | Judgment Appeal Judgment |
Case history | |
Subsequent action(s) | Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison for culpable homicide (later resentenced to 6 then 15 years for murder) |
Related action(s) | Multichoice (Proprietary) Limited and others v National Prosecuting Authority and another [2014] ZAGPPHC 37, Gauteng Division, Pretoria (South Africa) (broadcasting of proceedings) |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | Thokozile Masipa |
On 11–12 September 2014, judge Thokozile Masipa delivered a verdict that Pistorius was not guilty of murder but guilty of the culpable homicide of Steenkamp and reckless endangerment with a firearm at a restaurant.[13][14] On 21 October 2014, he was sentenced to a maximum of five years for culpable homicide with a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for reckless endangerment.[15][16]
Pistorius was released on parole on 19 October 2015 after serving one sixth of his sentence.[17] The state appealed the conviction, and in December 2015 the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the conviction for culpable homicide, finding him guilty of murder instead. On 6 July 2016, Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years in prison for murder. The state appealed again, this time for a longer sentence. The Supreme Court of Appeal then imposed a sentence of 15 years – with the time he had already served reducing the time to an additional 13 years and five months.[18]