The Supreme Court of Appeal on Thursday found Pistorius guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, throwing out his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
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“No arrest warrant has been issued”, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP on Friday, dismissing local media reports.
“In a case like this, which is already in exceptional terrain because the state has taken the unusual step of appealing a conviction, there are big legal questions around double jeopardy and the legal ambit of the supreme court of appeal”, she said to The Guardian.
Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door in his home early on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The appeal court judge, Justice Eric Leach, said he would have known that firing into the toilet cubicle would have led to death – but went ahead anyway.
Now found guilty of murder, Pistorius faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years as a first time offender, said Witz.
Sentencing would depend specifically on the availability of trial Judge Thokozile Masipa and was likely to happen only next year, Mfaku said.
Pistorius is now certain to head back to prison, because the South African legal system does not allow for someone to be placed under house arrest for more than five years.
Johann Engelbrecht, a criminal lawyer who is not involved in the Pistorius case, said it is doubtful the former athlete’s lawyers could challenge the murder conviction by appealing to the Constitutional Court.
The Paralympian was originally convicted of culpable homicide – similar to manslaughter – after a lengthy trial. The appeals court didn’t interfere with that finding.
Dolus eventualis refers to whether a person foresees the possibility that his or her action will cause death but carries on regardless.
“Let us now all get on with our lives”, he said.
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Journalists wait outside the home of Oscar Pistorius’ uncle Arnold Pistorius in Pretoria Decembe … “I feel it’s a fair decision that the judge gave”, before breaking down in tears. His voice breaking with emotion, he said of his daughter: “I’m sure she’ll be able to rest as well now”.
