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Oscar Pistorius: South Africa appeals court finds athlete guilty of murder
South Africa’s “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius was found guilty on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend, in an appeal court ruling that could see him sent back to prison for at least 15 years.
The Supreme Court upgraded the 29-year-old Pistorius’ sentence on appeal to murder from “culpable homicide”, South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a 5-year sentence.
He had been released from prison and placed under house arrest on October 19, having spent 1 day less than a year behind bars for shooting dead model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Members of the ruling African National Congress party’s Women’s League welcomed the new ruling, dancing and singing outside the court. They have attended the court sessions since the trial began in solidarity with Steenkamp’s family and in support of women’s rights.
Pistorius had been meant to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest on his uncle’s property in a wealthy suburb of the capital Pretoria. A new sentence will be handed down at a later date. He (Pistorius) is expected to remain on parole until then, unless a court rules otherwise, officials said.
In their appeal, prosecutors argued that Pistorius should have been convicted of murder for firing 4 shots through a locked toilet door. They said he intended to kill Steenkamp and that she had fled to the toilet during a row. “This case involves a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions,” Judge Eric Leach said as he read out the ruling.
“A young man overcomes huge physical disabilities to reach Olympian heights as an athlete. In doing so he becomes a celebrity, he meets a young woman and a successful model, romance blossoms, and then, ironically on Valentine’s Day, all is destroyed when he takes her life.”
The judge added that “as a matter of common sense, at the time the fatal shots were fired the possibility of the death of a person behind the door was clearly an obvious result.”
Pistorius denies deliberately killing Steenkamp, saying he mistook her for an intruder at his home. The case has prompted a fierce debate in the country. Some rights groups had said the white track star got preferential treatment.
Some legal experts said Pistorius’ lawyers could appeal the court’s ruling at the constitutional court, where they could argue that the heavy media coverage of his trial had infringed upon his right to a free trial. Others disagreed, saying Pistorius had received a fair trial and had been allowed to testify.
