Vunderkind
Social Member
First, a recap. Below are the possible offenses Pistorius may be convicted for:
Illegal Possession of Firearms: Prescribed jail time for this is 15 years.
Discharging Firearms in Public: Mr. Pistorius is guilty of having fired his gun twice in public. One in a restaurant on 11 January 2013, and the other through a car roof on 30 November 2012. This attracts 5 years of jail time.
Culpable Homicide: If he is indicted for murder, Newsweek reports, Oscar Pistorius can be tried for 'culpable Homicide', which means he killed Reeva Steenkamp 'negligently.' Penance for this is discretionary, we read, and could take the form of fines or prison time up to 15 years.
Murder: If it is decided that Oscar Pistorius meant to kill Steenkamp with no prior planning intended, he gets a compulsory 15-year jail sentence.
Premeditated Murder: This is the big one. If Pistorius is convicted for premeditated murder he could be facing a 25 year sentence.
Although Oscar Pistorius has been found to be relatively free of mental defects, his lawyers insist that his upbringing and disability have imbued him with a sense of heightened response to danger, and it is upon this they hinge their argument that Oscar Pistorius pulled the trigger 'reflexively.'
They have also suggested that if judge Masipa cannot see reason in the heightened response to danger argument, then Oscar Pistorius actions could be read as "putative self defense" meaning he took genuine steps to protect himself from perceived danger.
If the judge accepts this explanation, Oscar Pistorius will walk.
[Read more about the arguments about the Pistorius Trial here]
Illegal Possession of Firearms: Prescribed jail time for this is 15 years.
Discharging Firearms in Public: Mr. Pistorius is guilty of having fired his gun twice in public. One in a restaurant on 11 January 2013, and the other through a car roof on 30 November 2012. This attracts 5 years of jail time.
Culpable Homicide: If he is indicted for murder, Newsweek reports, Oscar Pistorius can be tried for 'culpable Homicide', which means he killed Reeva Steenkamp 'negligently.' Penance for this is discretionary, we read, and could take the form of fines or prison time up to 15 years.
Murder: If it is decided that Oscar Pistorius meant to kill Steenkamp with no prior planning intended, he gets a compulsory 15-year jail sentence.
Premeditated Murder: This is the big one. If Pistorius is convicted for premeditated murder he could be facing a 25 year sentence.
Although Oscar Pistorius has been found to be relatively free of mental defects, his lawyers insist that his upbringing and disability have imbued him with a sense of heightened response to danger, and it is upon this they hinge their argument that Oscar Pistorius pulled the trigger 'reflexively.'
They have also suggested that if judge Masipa cannot see reason in the heightened response to danger argument, then Oscar Pistorius actions could be read as "putative self defense" meaning he took genuine steps to protect himself from perceived danger.
If the judge accepts this explanation, Oscar Pistorius will walk.
[Read more about the arguments about the Pistorius Trial here]