Pretoria: South Africa's top prosecuting authority Friday expressed its disappointment on not being able to secure a conviction on the original charge of premeditated murder against paralympian Oscar Pistorius.
Pistorius shot his girlfriend dead through a locked toilet door Feb 14, 2013, at his house in Pretoria.
The National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) reaction came after the North Gauteng High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa concluded handing down her judgement in the trial of Pistorius, finding him guilty of culpable homicide but not guilty of premeditatedly murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's night last year.
"We respect the court decision to convict the accused on culpable homicide, which is in fact a serious crime," Xinhua quoted the NPA as saying in a statement.
The NPA "respects the findings of the court today. However it is important to mention that from the very beginning the prosecutors held the view that there was sufficient evidence to secure a successful prosecution on the charges that were preferred against the accused".
In her ruling, Masipa said: "The unanimous decision of this court is the following: on count one of murder, the accused is found not guilty, instead, he is found guilty of culpable homicide."
Masipa said the state failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was guilty of premeditated murder. This was despite the judge's earlier admission that Pistorius was a poor witness who contradicted himself.
Pistorius was also found guilty for recklessly handling a firearm in a public place but the court dismissed two other gun related charges.
The NPA said it will wait until the matter is concluded and will then comment on any further legal steps that might be envisaged.
The court, which extended the bail of Pistorius until sentencing for culpabale homicide, was adjourned till Oct 13.
