Oscar Pistorius Convicted Of Culpable Homicide

It was widely expected that former Olympics star Oscar Pistorius was going to get convicted of something in the case where his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed. On Friday morning, a South African judge found Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the case and not guilty of murder. (“Culpable homicide” is up there with manslaughter as defining murder with or without an intention to kill.)  The verdict has been met with mixed reactions around the country. [photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty]
The maximum prison sentence for the conviction is 15 years. That has angered many people who believe that Pistorius knew exactly what he was doing on Valentine’s Day last year. He should probably consider himself lucky this morning that it didn’t end up being much, much worse for him but didn’t show any emotion as the verdict was read.
Pistorius will wait until sentencing, which won’t be announced until a later date. It is possible that Pistorius walks out as soon as the sentencing is over with because of time served. That however isn’t terribly likely. The long six-month trial is now over and it will be another month of waiting until Oct. 13 for the sentencing hearing.