An arrest warrant for Oscar Pistorius has reportedly been issued by South African authorities, one day after the Paralympic champion was convicted on appeal of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
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“The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder”, Leach said to the courtroom, in which Steenkamp’s mother Saturday.
This case involves a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions: a young man overcomes huge physical disabilities to reach Olympian heights as an athlete; in doing so he becomes an worldwide celebrity; he meets a young woman of great natural beauty and a successful model; romance blossoms; and then, ironically on Valentine’s Day, all is destroyed when he takes her life.
State prosecutors who lodged the appeal say Pistorius meant to kill Steenkamp and that she fled to a toilet during a row. Pistorius said he killed her by mistake, thinking she was an intruder. The NPA said Pistorius’s present legal position was a matter of debate as the SCA overturned both the conviction and sentence.
As a matter of common sense at the time the fatal shots were fired, the possibility of the death of the person behind the door was clearly an obvious result.
This carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa.
The former Paralympian sprinter was released from prison in October after serving less than a year of the five-year sentence Masipa had imposed.
According to eNCA televison, an arrest warrant has been issued by the National Prosecuting Authority but it only plans to enforce it next week.
However, an appeals court has now overturned the original verdict, meaning he will have to return to court to be re-sentenced for murder.
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A date for the sentencing is expected to be set when Pistorius applies for bail.
