# I think they're about to announce the Pistorius verdict. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 11, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152 "2014-09-11T07:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/1 "2014-09-11T07:57:30Z")
CNN says he’s returned to court for the verdict. It’s 1am here. What time is it there? ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/2 "2014-09-11T08:32:26Z")
Sure are talking a L-O-N-G time. Reading out the charges. Then reading out a case summary. Even included directions to the bathroom from the main bedroom. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/3 "2014-09-11T08:50:23Z")
From [Watch live: Oscar Pistorius murder trial verdict](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/10668819/Watch-live-Oscar-Pistorius-murder-trial-verdict.html): > [@](#): > > Whether found guilty or not guilty, the verdict in the six month trial could take up to 48 hours to be delivered. > > Judge Thokozile Masipa will first recount and analyze the evidence given by each of the nearly 40 witnesses in the criminal case that captured considerable international attention. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/4 "2014-09-11T09:18:48Z")
Good grief. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/5 "2014-09-11T10:19:15Z")
Looking like [not guilty](http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Oscar_Pistorius/Live/LIVE-Oscar-Pistorius-Judgment-Day-20140911) of the most serious murder charge. Yet to see if he will be convicted of a lesser offense such as culpable homicide or negligent killing or even if he will be acquitted on that count. > [@](#): > > The State didn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that Oscar Pistorius is guilty of pre-meditated murder, says Judge Thokozile Masipa. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/6 "2014-09-11T11:23:57Z")
Cleared of all charges. I’m stunned. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/7 "2014-09-11T11:35:30Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Cleared of all charges. > > I’m stunned. Great username/post combo – yet again, for this same SDMB member. Did you pick that username for this very reason – knowing it would generate many great combo moments? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/8 "2014-09-11T11:37:51Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Cleared of all charges. > > I’m stunned. He’s not been cleared of all charges. He’s been cleared of murder, but he could still be convicted of culpable homicide. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/9 "2014-09-11T11:41:01Z")
Jkelly, I’m not clever enough for that. 🙂 Ctnguy, sorry, I was going by the report I saw on Morning Joe. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/10 "2014-09-11T12:32:02Z")
Judge Masipa has adjourned till tomorrow so the formal verdict isn’t known yet. She said that Pistorius’ conduct fails the “reasonable man test” and was negligent, which definitely sounds like she’s leading up to a conviction for culpable homicide (defined as “unlawful negligent killing of another”). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/11 "2014-09-11T18:34:02Z")
I’ve always thought what we call Manslaughter fit this situation. His actions weren’t reasonable and he was negligent. It’ll be interesting to see if the judge gives him a short or long sentence. I’ve read he could get up to 15 years but I think the judge can give less. It certainly sounds like he might get off with a light sentence. But this is a different country and its hard to guess what the judge has in mind. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11090088/Oscar-Pistorius-found-not-guilty-on-murder-charges-but-awaits-manslaughter-charge.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11090088/Oscar-Pistorius-found-not-guilty-on-murder-charges-but-awaits-manslaughter-charge.html) > [@](#): > > “The state has not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder,” she said. “There are just not enough facts to support such a finding.” > > She then proceeded to absolve Pistorius of a lesser murder charge that requires a different concept of intention, known by the legal term ‘dolus eventualis’, which holds you responsible for the foreseeable consequences of your actions. > > “Clearly he did not subjectively foresee this as a possibility that he would kill the person behind the door - let alone the deceased - as he thought she was in the bedroom,” she said. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/12 "2014-09-12T01:34:50Z")
What? How could he not have forseen he was going to kill someone behind the door he was shooting at? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/13 "2014-09-12T02:21:07Z")
From what I was hearing during the trial phase, I took Pistorious to be too easily trigger-happy and way too easily spooked and not thinking first. Plus his previous issues with temper and guns and his histrionics in court made me easily believe he too easily thought of an intruder and started shooting wildly. So something like voluntary manslaughter would make the most sense as a conviction ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/14 "2014-09-12T02:24:30Z")
> [@Shearer](#): > > What? How could he not have forseen he was going to kill someone behind the door he was shooting at? :dubious: At the very least, he should have maybe checked if it was his girlfriend first. He seemed to panic too easily ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/15 "2014-09-12T03:04:42Z")
Thing about panic is that it’s not rational. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/16 "2014-09-12T08:03:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Could Oscar Pistorius face a retrial? > > Legal experts in South Africa have suggested that Judge Thokozile Masipa’s interpretation of the law in the judgement of Oscar Pistorius could be wrong - and that the athlete could be retried [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11091295/Could-Oscar-Pistorius-face-a-retrial.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11091295/Could-Oscar-Pistorius-face-a-retrial.html) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/17 "2014-09-12T08:27:59Z")
He was also convicted of discharging a weapon in the restaurant incident. Big question: how many years will he get for culpable homicide? > **[Oscar Pistorius found guilty of culpable homicide](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29149581)** > > Oscar Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but is bailed until sentencing on 13 October. > [@](#): > > South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide after the judge found he killed his girlfriend by mistake. > > Judge Thokozile Masipa said the athlete acted “negligently” when he fired shots through a toilet door but in the “genuine belief that there was an intruder”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/18 "2014-09-12T10:02:53Z")
The closest American equivalent charge sounds like criminally negligent homicide? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/19 "2014-09-12T10:18:41Z")
The judge’s comments about the prosecution’s case were quite critical. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11090824/Judge-Thokozile-Masipa-rips-apart-prosecution-case-against-Oscar-Pistorius-for-murder-of-Reeva-Steenkamp.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/oscar-pistorius/11090824/Judge-Thokozile-Masipa-rips-apart-prosecution-case-against-Oscar-Pistorius-for-murder-of-Reeva-Steenkamp.html) > [@](#): > > Accompanied by frequent gasps in the packed courtroom, the judge took apart the state’s case that the Paralympic athlete shot Steenkamp after the couple had a passionate row. > > The judge said argumentative phone messages between the pair “proved nothing”; she dismissed as “inconclusive” evidence that Steenkamp had eaten when Pistorius claimed they were asleep in bed; and she described witnesses’ claims of hearing “blood curdling” screams before the shots were fired as “unreliable”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152/20 "2014-09-12T10:26:57Z")
[Oscar Pistorius, the disabled track star who once commanded stellar heights of international competition, was found guilty of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, on Friday after being acquitted of murder charges in the killing of his girlfriend in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013.](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/africa/oscar-pistorius-verdict-guilty-of-culpable-homicide.html?_r=0) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-think-theyre-about-to-announce-the-pistorius-verdict/698152.md?page=2)