Sports Briefs
–
OSCAR Pistorius, South African athlete, has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction for murdering Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend.
The Constitutional Court, gave the ruling on Wednesday, March 2, meaning Pistorius could now be sentenced in April.
The double-amputee killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of February 14, 2013, saying he mistook her for an intruder when he shot four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.
A manslaughter verdict was overturned in December 2015 and a murder verdict introduced in its place.
But the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, which opposed the application, said on Thursday, March 3, that the appeal attempt had failed.
“The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal because there are no prospects of success,” Luvuyo Mfaku, NPA spokesman, told AFP.
Mfaku said the court’s decision had been made on Wednesday, March 2.
Pistorius, 29, could face at least 15 years in jail when he attends a sentencing hearing on April 18.
The case will now go back to Judge Thokozile Masipa – who cleared the athlete of murder in the original case – for sentencing on April 18.
Prosecutors are believed to be targeting a sentence of at least 15 years in jail for Pistorius.
He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.
In December 2015, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court under Judge Masipa had not applied correctly the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.
Justice Eric Leach said that having armed himself with a high-calibre weapon, Pistorius must have foreseen that whoever was behind the door might die, especially given his firearms training.
Pistorius has always maintained he believed he was shooting at an intruder.
— Mar 14, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
|
Tags:
