@aberdeen Ja, aber um eine geringere Strafe zu erreichen, wird er beweisen müssen, dass eine unmittelbare Gefahr für ihn ausging und er keine andere Möglichkeit zur Verteidigung sah.
Nochmals aus dem Artikel, weil wirklich aufschlussreich:
"Just as problematically for him, Pistorius does not have a very good self-defense claim here. In some states in the U.S., it is legally acceptable to use deadly physical force where it is reasonably necessary to prevent a burglary of one’s home. In South Africa, on the other hand, deadly physical force can only be applied where it is reasonably necessary to prevent an imminent and deadly attack (a “proportionality standard,” so to speak). Thus, the big problem for Pistorius is that he can be convicted for the premeditated murder of a burglar unless he can show that he was objectively reasonable in acting the way that he did in firing upon his door. (Incidentally, the South African prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, correctly pointed out this problem with Pistorius’ defense at Pistorius’ bail hearing). It seems unlikely that a judge would find that Pistorius’ shooting at a door – without knowing who was behind it and with the clear intent to kill the person behind it (as evidenced by the use of four shots fired into a small chamber) – could possibly have been reasonably necessary to prevent imminent physical harm. After all, it is nearly impossible to conclude that the person behind the door presented an imminent threat of serious physical harm to Pistorius because… she didn’t. It was after all his girlfriend, not a burglar, and Pistorius – by his own admission and according to his version of events – did not take any reasonable steps to determine the seriousness of the threat posed by the person in the toilet.
Seemingly, Pistorius’ only hope for an acquittal on all charges would be to somehow argue that he truly and reasonably believed that he had to fire into the bathroom to prevent a deadly attack to be inflicted upon him or his girlfriend. This seems like a longshot but perhaps he will be able to demonstrate a history or pattern of dangerous home break-ins in his home in the past that will make his response seem more reasonable under his unique circumstances. Otherwise, he will have to argue that he did not intend to kill the “burglar” behind the toilet door when he fired four times, and that his actions, though designed only to scare the burglar or serve as a “warning shot,” only accidentally or negligently caused the death of the “burglar” and were not the result of an intentional killing. Under this scenario, he might be convicted of only culpable homicide, for which there is no requirement of incarceration under South African law (a conviction for premeditated murder, in contrast, carries with it a life sentence). His affidavit seems to leave open both defenses as possibilities at trial.
The trial will not be so different from an American criminal trial but for one major difference: judges, and not juries, decide guilt or innocence in South Africa. Pistorius’ character may also very well become an issue, more than it would likely have been had he been arrested in the United States for the same crime. It is of course always difficult to predict the outcome of a criminal trial, but in this case, it seems likely that Pistorius will be convicted of premeditated murder."
