The
defence in the Oscar Pistorius murder case rested Tuesday, bringing to
an end the latest phase of a trial which has lasted longer than the
athlete’s relationship with Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed.
Closing arguments will begin August 7, the judge ordered.
The
long delay may be because of the length of time it will take the legal
teams on both sides to review the transcript of the case, CNN legal
analyst Kelly Phelps said.
It’s thought to be as much as 4,000 pages long, covering a case that ran for 39 days between March 3 and July 8.
Pistorius,
27, admits firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp, but he says he
mistakenly thought he was defending himself from an intruder.
Prosecutors say the two had an argument and he deliberately murdered the
model and law school graduate, who was 29.
Following
closing arguments, the judge will have to decide whether Pistorius
genuinely made a mistake or deliberately murdered his girlfriend.
If
Judge Thokozile Masipa does not believe the athlete thought there was
an intruder, she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to a
prison term ranging from 15 years to life. South Africa does not have
the death penalty.
If
Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know that Steenkamp was the
person he was shooting at, she could find him guilty of culpable
homicide, a lesser charge than murder, or acquit him, according to
Phelps, the CNN legal analyst.
A verdict of culpable homicide would leave the sentence at Masipa’s discretion.
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