Oscar Pistorius found not guilty of premeditated murder

A South African judge found Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius not guilty of premeditated murder on Thursday, saying the prosecution did not prove Pistorius intentionally killed his girlfriend and that he couldn’t be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Pistorius could still be found guilty of culpable homicide, which is a less serious charge and could still carry a long jail term.

Pistorius, 27, faced 25 years to life in prison for killing Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, 2013. Pistorius claimed he accidentally shot Steenkamp through a bathroom door, after believing there was an intruder in his home. Prosecutors said that Pistorius shot her after the couple had an argument and that Pistorius had a temper with a pattern of acting out.

Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa said “there is no doubt that when the accused fired shots through the toilet door he acted unlawfully, but it was “highly improbable the accused would have made this up so quickly.”

Masipa said that Pistorius was a “very poor” and “evasive” witness, but that didn’t mean that he is guilty of the crime in which he was accused of.