Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty Of 'Culpable Homicide'

A South African judge on Friday convicted athlete Oscar Pistorius of "culpable homicide" in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, reports USA Today. 

A conviction of culpable homicide, the term for manslaughter in South Africa, carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence. Pistorius had already been cleared of murdering Steenkamp.

Pistorius has been granted bail and will return to court on October 13 to find out whether he will be imprisoned and, if so, for how long.

A day earlier, Judge Thokozile Masipa said state prosecutors had failed to prove Pistorius, 27, was guilty of premeditated or second-degree murder.

However, Masipa found the actions by Pistorius — an Olympic and Paralympic athlete known as the Blade Runner for his use of specially designed prosthetic legs — to be "negligent."

Reading a lengthy explanation of the evidence and charges, Masipa told the court Thursday that she found Pistorius "acted too hastily and used excessive force" when he fired four times into the door of a toilet stall in his apartment, killing Steenkamp, 29, on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Masipa's decision to acquit Pistorius of murder was met with criticism from South Africans.

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