In less than an hour Judge Eric Leach had put the final nail in the coffin of Oscar Pistorius’ freedom.
After recapping the events of the fateful night, Leach came to the conclusion that Judge Thokozile Masipa’s thinking was confusing and that the trial court misinterpreted the principal of dolus eventualis. Leach said Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the bathroom door would be fatally wounded. He also stated that the identity of his victim was irrelevant to his guilt.
The trial court’s sentence was overturned and the Supreme Court of Appeal found Pistorius guilty of murder.
When Leach read out his final finding, supporters of June Steenkamp hugged the mother of the deceased.
Pistorius will now have to go back to court to argue his sentence, of which 15 years is the minimum mandatory sentence for murder.
