In February of 2013, South African super model Reeva Steenkamp was found dead in her boyfriend’s home, paralympic star Oscar Pistorius. After almost two years since the incident, Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa declared the athlete guilty of culpable homicide.
According to CNN’s report, Pistorius was convicted last Friday of culpable homicide, the South African term for unintentionally -- but unlawfully -- killing a person. He was also found guilty of one gun charge in an unrelated shooting at a restaurant. During his trial, he admitted that he had shot Steenkamp, but he insists that he mistook her for an intruder.
Reeva Steenkamp was beauty and brains - a law school graduate and an aspiring model who had a bright future in store for her. According to Oscar’s uncle Arnold, “They had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time,” he said. “We are all grieving for Reeva, her family and her friends. Oscar -- as you can imagine -- is also numb with shock as well as grief.”
The day before Valentine’s Day, Steenkamp tweeted: “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow?” she asked her Twitter followers, adding, “Get excited” - never did anyone imagine what would happen next.
In an article form the New York Times, many people are expressing their opinions on social media sites, newspapers, and comments from different websites regarding the issue: The Star Newspaper raised some eyebrows with the headline “Will Oscar Walk?”, On Twitter, comedian Trevor Noah questioned the sentence of Molemo Maarohanye, a black rap star who was sentenced to 25 years of prison for killing four people with his car while driving under the influence of drugs, while “Oscar went to fetch a gun but he gets less time?” Besides that, a commenter from the News24 website, named Peter Tracey called the verdict “a very sad indictment of our justice system.”
The sentence for culpable homicide depends on the judge, it can range from no jail time to it’s most extreme which is 15 years in prison, as of today Pistorius has yet to be sentenced.
