Thursday 3 December 2015

Pistorius finally convicted of murder by SA appeal court


An athlete running away or towards jail?
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of murder after a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict.
Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 after shooting four times through a locked toilet door.
He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.
Pistorius will have to return to court to be re-sentenced, for murder.
Pistorius, a six-time Paralympic gold medallist whose legs were amputated below the knee as a baby, made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012, running on prosthetic "blades".

  • Murder conviction as it happened
  • Judge's best quotes
  • Relief and tears after murder verdict
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis - whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.
The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but judges can apply some discretion.
South African law does not make provision for someone to be placed under house arrest for more than five years, so Pistorius will be going back to prison, reports the BBC

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