A court in South Africa has ruled that Oscar Pistorius was guilty of murder, not manslaughter, in the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
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The judgment was unanimous from the five justices presiding over the case at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, and Judge Eric Leach, in announcing the verdict, took a moment to marvel at the scope of the tragedy.
Oscar Pistorius sits in court, after judge Thokozile Masipais sentence Pistorius to five years in prison, in Pretoria, South Africa, Oct. 21, 2014.
Pistorius insisted he shot Steenkamp by mistake, thinking there was an intruder behind the door of a toilet cubicle in his home.
A South African appeals court has found that Oscar Pistorius did murder his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
“It is inconceivable that a rational person thought he was entitled to fire at this person with a heavy-duty firearm”, Judge Leach said, who described Pistorius’ testimony as “vacillating and untruthful”.
No mention was made with regard to Pistorius’ current status of being out of prison under house arrest, nor has a date been set for the reconvening of the high court in Pretoria for a fresh sentencing on the murder conviction.
Pistorius, who is under house arrest as part of his parole conditions, did not attend the ruling Thursday.
Another added: ‘Masipa must still hand down sentencing for the murder conviction now, after she misinterpreted the law.
The Telegraph said Leach also ruled that “the Supreme Court found that the original trial did not take into account all the circumstantial evidence involved in the case, including key police evidence, which was an error”.
“The issue of double jeopardy hasn’t really been robustly debated in this particular context since the advent of our constitution, and I do think there are grounds for debate on reappraising the current approach”, she said. Under this principle, the identity of the victim should not matter, the judge said. According to the Telegraph, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother June “let out a sigh of relief” when the ruling was read.
The disgraced paralimpian’s family said in a brief statement they were analyzing with lawyers the possibility of appealing.
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Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion, became the first amputee to run at the Olympics and the able-bodied world championships.
