Prosecutors Can Appeal Pistorius Verdict

A judge gives prosecutors permission to appeal against the Oscar Pistorius verdict and seek a murder conviction.

08:18, UK, Wednesday 10 December 2014

Oscar Pistorius was given a five-year jail term

Prosecutors who say Oscar Pistorius should have been found guilty of murder rather than culpable homicide can launch an appeal.

The athlete was convicted in October of the culpable homicide, or manslaughter, of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and sentenced to five years in prison.
But prosecutors said the verdict was wrong, and asked Judge Thokozile Masipa for permission to appeal and seek a murder conviction.

Judge Thokozile Masipa has given prosecutors permission to appeal

This morning she granted their request, saying: "I cannot say the prospect of success at the Supreme Court is remote."
She had previously found the double amputee not guilty of murder, ruling he did not intend to kill Ms Steenkamp when he fired his gun four times.
Pistorius claimed he mistook Miss Steenkamp for an intruder when he killed her on Valentine's Day last year.

Reeva Steenkamp was shot through a bathroom door

As his conviction stands, Pistorius could end up spending only 10 months of his jail term at Pretoria's central prison, before being placed under house arrest at his uncle's home.
The punishment had previously been described as "shockingly light" by prosecutors.