:00:00. > :00:00.We can go live to Pretoria, for special coverage, after Oscar
:00:00. > :00:15.Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide.
:00:16. > :00:23.Welcome to Pretoria, and the end of two long days in court in which we
:00:24. > :00:30.finally learned the verdict by the judge on Oscar Pistorius in this
:00:31. > :00:33.six`month murder trial, Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty not
:00:34. > :00:39.of murder but of premeditated murder, as the state had gone for,
:00:40. > :00:42.but of culpable homicide. For killing his girlfriend, Reeva
:00:43. > :00:51.Steenkamp. Before we discuss the locations of the conviction, we will
:00:52. > :00:58.look back on the day in court. Oscar Pistorius arriving in court, not
:00:59. > :01:03.guilty of murder, but still not a freeman. The judge first dealt with
:01:04. > :01:07.three firearms charges brought at the same time as the main charge,
:01:08. > :01:22.that the athlete shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. Thokozile Masipa:
:01:23. > :01:25.He has got to be acquitted. Once again, prosecution evidence was
:01:26. > :01:31.called into question, described as too weak to secure a conviction on
:01:32. > :01:34.two of the three charges, but Oscar Pistorius would found guilty of
:01:35. > :01:38.negligence when a gun that he was holding went off in a crowded
:01:39. > :01:42.restaurant. By itself, that conviction could carry a prison
:01:43. > :01:51.sentence. Then, the judge moved to the merged `` moved to the verdict.
:01:52. > :01:58.He is discharged, instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide.
:01:59. > :02:04.Outside of the court, discontent from the state prosecuting body. We
:02:05. > :02:09.are disappointed that we did not get or secure a conviction on
:02:10. > :02:13.premeditated murder, and also that there was acquittal on the other two
:02:14. > :02:17.charges. The verdict is probably the best that the family of Oscar
:02:18. > :02:22.Pistorius could hope for. We always knew the facts of the matter, and we
:02:23. > :02:29.never had any doubt in Oscar Pistorius's version. Oscar Pistorius
:02:30. > :02:33.is free, for now. Lawyers meet again in October to argue over his
:02:34. > :02:35.sentence. He could still go to prison for years, or he could face
:02:36. > :02:46.as little as a fine. A little of the reaction to the
:02:47. > :02:51.verdict there, in the report, but what about the reaction from other
:02:52. > :02:55.quarters to the fact that Oscar Pistorius has not been convicted of
:02:56. > :03:00.murder, and that he has had bail given to him again, to spend the
:03:01. > :03:05.next month at the house of his uncle, not in custody. Africa
:03:06. > :03:10.correspond and Andrew Harding looks at the wider reaction to the case.
:03:11. > :03:15.Oscar Pistorius, shortly after he had killed Reeva Steenkamp. From the
:03:16. > :03:21.very beginning, he insisted it was a terrible mistake, that he and Reeva
:03:22. > :03:26.Steenkamp, seen arriving at his home a few hours earlier, were very much
:03:27. > :03:34.in love. I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise you
:03:35. > :03:38.that when she went to bed, she felt love. In court, not shown on
:03:39. > :03:41.cameras, Lee maintained he shot through his bathroom door, convinced
:03:42. > :03:57.an intruder had broken into his home. His grief and his regret were
:03:58. > :04:04.compelling. I cried. And... I do not know how long I was left for. She
:04:05. > :04:08.was not breathing. Oscar Pistorius's defence made much of the
:04:09. > :04:13.athlete's vulnerability as a disabled man, confronting a
:04:14. > :04:17.perceived threat. His capacity to walk without his push the cis is
:04:18. > :04:22.poor, his balance is poor, he could easily be pushed over. When exposed
:04:23. > :04:27.to a threat, he is more likely to respond with a fight response rather
:04:28. > :04:33.than a flight response, as his physical capacity for flight is
:04:34. > :04:37.limited. Prosecution sought to show that there was a darker side to
:04:38. > :04:41.Oscar Pistorius. His obsession with guns, his quick temper, and it
:04:42. > :04:47.questioned how the athlete could have made such a terrible mistake.
:04:48. > :04:50.When you shouted and screamed at Reeva Steenkamp to phone the
:04:51. > :04:55.police, she is three metres away from you, in the toilet, and she
:04:56. > :05:01.never uttered a word? It is not probable! At the heart of the case,
:05:02. > :05:07.the question of what Oscar Pistorius was thinking when he shot four times
:05:08. > :05:11.through the toilet door. It was nice, I thought it was somebody
:05:12. > :05:21.coming out to attack me, I fired my firearm. Your defence has now
:05:22. > :05:25.changed... From self defence, to involuntary action... Is that what
:05:26. > :05:30.you are telling me? I do not understand the law, I can only reply
:05:31. > :05:35.as to what I thought... Today's verdict suggests that the judge
:05:36. > :05:38.believed the explanation given by Oscar Pistorius. I believe that the
:05:39. > :05:45.judge was swayed by his demeanour on the stand. The judge was swayed by
:05:46. > :05:49.the evidence procured by the defence, including amongst others,
:05:50. > :05:54.the psychological impact that his childhood may have had on him, as
:05:55. > :05:59.well as the experts that were brought in by the defence. When it
:06:00. > :06:03.comes to murder, Oscar Pistorius has been given the benefit of the doubt,
:06:04. > :06:08.many here consider he has had a lucky escape. As for the friends and
:06:09. > :06:10.family of Reeva Steenkamp, they still need to know whether her
:06:11. > :06:18.killer will spend any time in prison. Some of her friends have
:06:19. > :06:21.already criticised the verdict. It is unfair but it does not surprise
:06:22. > :06:26.me, it is pretty much what I expected from the outset. Because he
:06:27. > :06:34.can afford the best possible defence. He can invest in private
:06:35. > :06:39.investigator to support his case... Today, Oscar Pistorius left court a
:06:40. > :06:43.freeman, for now. The judge agreed to extend his bail, and rejected the
:06:44. > :06:48.state 's claim that he might flee the country. The athlete will be
:06:49. > :06:54.back next month for sentencing. He could still get a prison term. He
:06:55. > :06:59.could, this is a very serious case of culpable homicide, because of the
:07:00. > :07:03.use of a firearm. Four shots were fired, in particular. The judge has
:07:04. > :07:07.complete discretion, she can impose any kind of sentence, it could even
:07:08. > :07:12.be a non`jail sentence. She needs to send out a strong message to the
:07:13. > :07:17.public. Tonight, he is back at his uncle 's home. Some in South Africa
:07:18. > :07:19.have forgiven him. Some have not. The possibility of a prison sentence
:07:20. > :07:36.still hangs in the air. With me here outside of the court, a
:07:37. > :07:43.defence lawyer, and a campaigner from a gun`control lobby. You train
:07:44. > :07:48.the barrister in the 1980s, how have you viewed what she has been saying
:07:49. > :07:51.in court? I think that she has given her judgement very well, she was the
:07:52. > :07:55.second black female ever to be appointed in South Africa as a
:07:56. > :08:00.permanent judge, she has been on the bench ever since, she has acquitted
:08:01. > :08:04.herself very well. In regard to the way that she conducted the trial.
:08:05. > :08:09.She conducted in the way that a judge should be, she was polite and
:08:10. > :08:13.was not obtrusive. Dealing with the judgement, weighing up the evidence,
:08:14. > :08:17.the way that she came to her findings, to a large extent, I think
:08:18. > :08:20.she did a good job in that regard, especially with regard to
:08:21. > :08:26.premeditated murder. She put aside a lot of the evidence and said, "I
:08:27. > :08:32.need more reliable evidence," and premeditated murder has no
:08:33. > :08:37.definition in South African law. It means a degree of planning. Even if
:08:38. > :08:42.it is a sudden rage or an argument, it is not need to be an hour before,
:08:43. > :08:46.a year before, if you pick up a gun and kill summary, it can be
:08:47. > :08:50.premeditated. But the witnesses that the state called were not enough in
:08:51. > :08:54.regard to liability, because of the distance. She then dealt with
:08:55. > :08:58.summing up of the evidence and applied legal principles and then in
:08:59. > :09:02.her own opinion, her legal findings, together with the two assessors, who
:09:03. > :09:08.play a very important role, they can outvote the judge, but they agreed.
:09:09. > :09:12.The finding which inanimate. They make the finding to the facts only.
:09:13. > :09:16.She then applied the law to those particular facts and said, the only
:09:17. > :09:20.version I have got is the accused himself. She then applied what she
:09:21. > :09:24.believed was the correct findings in regard to his version. Even though
:09:25. > :09:29.he was a per witness, evasive, and even lied in certain respects, she
:09:30. > :09:35.found that his version could not be rejected, for the simple reason that
:09:36. > :09:38.shortly after the unfortunate tragedy, he said to an independent
:09:39. > :09:43.witness, a nearby neighbour who came to render assistance, a radiologist.
:09:44. > :09:50.He tried to revive the late Reeva Steenkamp. She seemed to be in very
:09:51. > :09:54.bad medical condition. He said, "I made a mistake, I thought it was an
:09:55. > :09:59.intruder". He kept that in the bail application and the trial and the
:10:00. > :10:02.judge believed him. He did not fabricate the evidence, it is
:10:03. > :10:05.evidence that he gave, and the judge found it reasonably possibly true,
:10:06. > :10:10.even though in many respects he was not a good witness. Summing up the
:10:11. > :10:15.legal position, there is a lot of criticism that has been levelled. In
:10:16. > :10:19.this case, you have the smoking gun and the shooter and the unfortunate
:10:20. > :10:23.victim, Reeva Steenkamp. Everyone has said it is so obvious, fired
:10:24. > :10:28.through a closed door, it has got to be murder. You have got to look at
:10:29. > :10:38.the principals. Burden of proof, the onus. Once there is no intention,
:10:39. > :10:42.then you cannot have in any way murder. You have got to look at the
:10:43. > :10:47.competent medic, the objective test, which is different, subject to what
:10:48. > :10:51.he believed and whether it was justified. That is how she came to
:10:52. > :10:55.her conclusion. Before I ask you about sentencing, I would like to
:10:56. > :10:59.speak with you. The overall impression of what you have seen in
:11:00. > :11:04.court, over the last few months but particularly, the reasoning that we
:11:05. > :11:07.have heard from the judge. I would like to focus specifically on the
:11:08. > :11:11.nature of the crime, which was what we would see as gun violence. One of
:11:12. > :11:18.the things throughout the trial, and over the last two days, an increased
:11:19. > :11:23.awareness in the public around the danger of guns in the home. I think
:11:24. > :11:27.the fact that Oscar Pistorius has got one conviction on one of the
:11:28. > :11:31.firearms charges. The lesser firearms charges that we were
:11:32. > :11:34.hearing about, which were also being heard. One of them is about
:11:35. > :11:39.negligent discharge. One of the three. That will automatically
:11:40. > :11:46.hopefully disqualifying him and have him declared unfit to be an owner of
:11:47. > :11:50.a firearm. But we have been surprised at her acquitting him on
:11:51. > :11:54.the illegal possession of ammunition. The act is very clear,
:11:55. > :11:59.you do not have to have intent to possess. It goes further, there is a
:12:00. > :12:04.presumption of possession. Take an example with his father, perhaps his
:12:05. > :12:10.father had left the ammunition at his home and had not told him. That
:12:11. > :12:13.is sufficient to see the owner of the property, where there is
:12:14. > :12:18.ammunition for which you do not have a licence or do not have a licence
:12:19. > :12:24.to deal, that is seen as a legal possession. That finding is really
:12:25. > :12:28.very surprising and confusing in terms of our understanding of the
:12:29. > :12:34.law. Very briefly, in terms of the wider case, do you feel this has
:12:35. > :12:38.changed perception about gun crime in South Africa or heightened
:12:39. > :12:42.awareness? Absolutely, over the last six months we have had a significant
:12:43. > :12:48.increase, particularly from women, saying, "I live with my partner, I
:12:49. > :12:52.know a neighbour, a woman living with a man who abuses alcohol... He
:12:53. > :12:58.has a short temper... What must we do? This is important, because the
:12:59. > :13:04.law is not just for the gun owner, the law is there to help prevent gun
:13:05. > :13:08.violence. If we look at the case of Oscar Pistorius. Several incidents
:13:09. > :13:12.where he demonstrated negligence. It would have taken one person one
:13:13. > :13:17.individual to have gone to the police station and reported, not
:13:18. > :13:23.levelled a charge, but deported. The police would have been required to
:13:24. > :13:28.hold a section hearing, considering whether he was fit and proper to
:13:29. > :13:31.continue possession of a gun. If that had been completed, then there
:13:32. > :13:38.is a strong chance it would have been completed and found that he
:13:39. > :13:42.should not own a gun and Reeva Steenkamp could well be alive. Found
:13:43. > :13:46.guilty on only one of those three gun charges. But an important
:13:47. > :13:51.charge, very significant charge, and it carries a five`year sentence.
:13:52. > :13:55.Speaking of sentencing, we have a verdict but we do not know Oscar
:13:56. > :14:00.Pistorius's fate beyond the 13th of October, we now know he is back at
:14:01. > :14:04.his uncle's, on bail, a freeman effectively until the date. There is
:14:05. > :14:09.a variety of sentence options available to the judge. The
:14:10. > :14:12.sentences will not play any further role in South African law. It is up
:14:13. > :14:15.to the discretion of the judge, she is the only one who will be imposing
:14:16. > :14:24.a sentence. She will hear evidence from the defence, they will lead
:14:25. > :14:26.evidence. The state will lead evidence in aggravation of sentence.
:14:27. > :14:31.Then there will be legal arguments on both sides as to what kind of
:14:32. > :14:35.sentence should be in post. I have no doubt that the state will be
:14:36. > :14:40.asking for direct imprisonment. `` should be imposed. Very fortunate,
:14:41. > :14:45.if this was a murder charge, if it was common law murder, the direct
:14:46. > :14:49.intervention, premeditated would carry 25 years, life, in South
:14:50. > :14:54.Africa. First offender, 15 years on a murder charge, minimum. Maximum,
:14:55. > :15:00.20. Unless you can show substantial and compelling circumstances, which
:15:01. > :15:05.could be the way he has to cope with life with his disability. The judge
:15:06. > :15:09.can probably sentence anywhere up to 15 years. Possibly the maximum for
:15:10. > :15:12.this. Although it does not fall under the minimum sentence
:15:13. > :15:18.legislation, we have had that since 1998. The legislature, and the new
:15:19. > :15:21.government, decided crime is getting out of control, and so serious and
:15:22. > :15:26.violent offences, they put in place a minimum sentence. Everyday, every
:15:27. > :15:30.year, May one, even though it is workers Day, public holiday, they
:15:31. > :15:34.extended for another year, so that it is still in force. He is very
:15:35. > :15:38.fortunate that he does not fall under minimum sentence. The judge
:15:39. > :15:42.has a wide variety of options open. Direct imprisonment, had direct
:15:43. > :15:46.imprisonment where a portion would be suspended. I anticipate that
:15:47. > :15:52.could happen. Also, a fine, a suspended sentence, perhaps what
:15:53. > :15:55.could be called community service. If you well`known sportsman,
:15:56. > :15:59.unfortunately, have not had charges against them but they have gone into
:16:00. > :16:02.various underprivileged areas and they have helped underprivileged
:16:03. > :16:06.children, immunity service. The community can see that they are
:16:07. > :16:09.paying back, they show they are not beyond the law. That is one of the
:16:10. > :16:15.alternative sentences, together with house arrest, for three years. The
:16:16. > :16:29.judge has got various options open. It is at her discretion.
:16:30. > :16:40.The reason why this trial has attracted so much attention is
:16:41. > :16:48.because of his celebrity status. Six gold medals in the Paralympic Games,
:16:49. > :17:04.bringing disability sports to the mainstream. But what went wrong?
:17:05. > :17:12.Oscar Pistorius did more than win races. He changed the way the world
:17:13. > :17:23.viewed disability. They may call me the Blade Runner. My parents made
:17:24. > :17:28.the difficult decision of getting my legs amputated, but looking back
:17:29. > :17:39.they made the correct decision. Few nor Pistorius as well as has long
:17:40. > :17:46.terror training partner. `` as well as his long`term training partner.
:17:47. > :17:53.He will stick to his words while chasing a gene. That Jean began
:17:54. > :18:02.whilst at school. He was given prosthetics and began to run. It was
:18:03. > :18:05.here in Pretoria in March 2004 when a teenage Pistorius, after two
:18:06. > :18:21.months of training with bleeds, showed how good he was. He won the
:18:22. > :18:31.100 metres in 11.5 seconds. `` training with blades. I put in more
:18:32. > :18:37.hours. I train better. Oscar Pistorius is flying away from all of
:18:38. > :18:53.them. Paralympic golds followed in Athens and Beijing. Pistorius has
:18:54. > :18:57.become a brand. At London he became the first amputee to run the
:18:58. > :19:02.Olympics, but by no stories were also emerging of another side to his
:19:03. > :19:10.character. This man has known his story since he was a boy. A roommate
:19:11. > :19:17.told me that he had to move out of the room because Oscar Pistorius was
:19:18. > :19:23.shouting and screaming. He was shouting and screaming at his then
:19:24. > :19:38.girlfriend. The story was confirmed by other athletes. Rumours about his
:19:39. > :19:46.private life persisted. He seems to be a different person. He was an
:19:47. > :19:53.insomniac. He used to go to the shooting range in the middle of the
:19:54. > :20:01.night. He was volatile and aggressive. There was controversy on
:20:02. > :20:05.the track as well. Having lost in the 200 metres final in London, he
:20:06. > :20:12.suggested that his rival had cheated. He said there was something
:20:13. > :20:17.wrong. After all that it was difficult to stand beside him. He
:20:18. > :20:22.refused to talk to me. But the man who has become the new poster boy of
:20:23. > :20:32.Paralympic sport told me that Pistorius was also capable of
:20:33. > :20:48.generosity. He asked if she could pray for me. He made the first
:20:49. > :20:52.breakthrough. At Pretoria University a new generation of Paralympic
:20:53. > :21:08.hopefuls remain loyal. He is still an inspiration for me. I saw him
:21:09. > :21:16.doing so well without his legs. As an athlete, superhuman, as a man,
:21:17. > :21:33.flawed. Sports ultimate fall from grace is complete.
:21:34. > :21:41.I am joined by a sports editor. Is there any conceivable future for
:21:42. > :21:58.Oscar Pistorius which a Mac `` Oscar Pistorius? People will see he has
:21:59. > :22:05.been tainted. I find it difficult to see him become the Oscar Pistorius
:22:06. > :22:15.who captured the world. He was a hope for a lot of people. You knew
:22:16. > :22:33.Oscar Pistorius well. South Africa make of the fact that it's hero is
:22:34. > :22:47.now a convicted killer? Julian the apartheid era there were sports
:22:48. > :22:54.boycotts. I think that time has moved on. The records that he made
:22:55. > :22:58.have been broken. The Paralympic Association has said that if he is
:22:59. > :23:06.punished and has paid his debt he can perform again. If Oscar
:23:07. > :23:12.Pistorius calls and does community service, whether he is instructed to
:23:13. > :23:26.or does it voluntarily, he has some way of vindicating himself. That
:23:27. > :23:28.would be the best thing for him. You were hinting at potential
:23:29. > :23:39.rehabilitation in the eyes of South Africans. Absolutely, if he did it
:23:40. > :23:43.that way. We have seen people who have fallen wall pick themselves up
:23:44. > :23:50.by doing community service. If he took a lying on gun control for
:23:51. > :24:06.example. If he tries to correct those things now it would be an
:24:07. > :24:12.indication. I agree. His image has been heavily tainted by this court
:24:13. > :24:19.case. He has got to go back to the people that need ten 80. He has got
:24:20. > :24:34.to see that he is sorry and that he made a genuine mistake. He has got
:24:35. > :24:43.to offer coaching lessons. He has got to try and get civil society to
:24:44. > :24:54.back him again. At present we do not know if Oscar Pistorius is going to
:24:55. > :25:08.jail. We are stealing there is a lot of anger from the family of Reeva
:25:09. > :25:11.Steenkamp. Whatever happens, his family has said they will not take a
:25:12. > :25:23.custodial sentence, they will appeal. It will be many years before
:25:24. > :25:45.Oscar Pistorius walks through a prison gate. They will take it the
:25:46. > :25:52.entire way. They will want to see. They will be able to exhaust the
:25:53. > :26:11.legal system. This is certainly by no means the end of the legal
:26:12. > :26:17.process. By and large it is set fair and most
:26:18. > :26:21.of us should see some sunshine. Spear a thought for those in
:26:22. > :26:22.southeastern parts of Europe where there has been a lot