Report By Darren Boyle
South African prosecutors on Tuesday filed an appeal against the sentence and conviction of star Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who last month was sentenced to five years for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority: 'Today, we announce that the NPA filed the application for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence. The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law.'
The athlete stood trial for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot four times through a locked toilet door in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013.
Pistorius admitted to shooting Steenkamp, 29, at his upmarket Pretoria home, but told the court that he had mistaken her for an intruder.
The state sought to prove that Pistorius deliberately shot Steenkamp.
Now, prosecutors want to overturn the culpable homicide verdict and instead retry the entire case. If successful, Pistorius could face another marathon murder trial.
But Pretoria High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa found there was not enough evidence to convict the 27-year-old Paralympic and Olympic athlete of premeditated murder.
He was found guilty of culpable homicide, a charge equivalent to manslaughter, after a seven-month trial.
The date for the appeal hearing has not been set.
NPA spokesman Nathi Mncube said: 'The merits of the NPA's argument in this regard are contained in the papers that were filed with the registrar of the North Gauteng High Court today.
'This means that the matter is now officially sub judice and consequently the NPA will not be able to discuss the matter publicly until judgment is delivered by the court.'
Prosecutors believe that judge Masipa had erred in law by returning a culpable homicide verdict and instead should have found the sprinter guilty of premeditated murder.
A premeditated murder conviction would have returned a mandatory life sentence with a minimum jail term of 25 years.
Currently, Pistorius can expected to be released in a little over eight months.
Pistorius is currently serving his sentence at a hospital section of a Pretoria prison.
The appeal sets the stage for another instalment of a legal battle that has gripped millions around the world.
Pistorius was last month jailed for five years for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, although it is expected that he will only serve a maximum of ten months in custody.
Judge Masipa's decision to rule out murder was criticised by legal professionals and the Women's League of the African National Congress (ANC) as an erroneous interpretation of the law.
Source: Daily Mail
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