The judge has said that there are "not enough
facts" to support the charge of premeditated murder.
"The state has not proved
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of premeditated murder.
There are just not enough facts to support such a finding," she said.
She said that the evidence for this
claim is purely circumstantial.
The 66-year-old Masipa (Judge), the only second
black woman to rise to the bench in South Africa, has remained impassive
throughout the often dramatic and gruesome court proceedings, seemingly
impervious to the global interest in a case that has drawn comparisons to the
1995 murder trial of American football star OJ Simpson.
The decision will be a relief to Pistorius, who would have faced a
mandatory life sentence - effectively 25 years before parole - but he could
still be convicted of a lesser murder charge, or culpable homicide, both of
which could carry lengthy jail terms.
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