Other High Profile Cases and Persons of Interest > Oscar Pistorius and the killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius denied leave to appeal his murder conviction.
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Oscar Pistorius denied leave to appeal for Steenkamp murder
BBC News
3rd March 2016
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Constitutional Court has made the ruling, meaning Pistorius will now be sentenced in April.
Pistorius killed Ms Steenkamp in February 2013 after firing four times through a locked toilet door.
A manslaughter verdict was overturned in December and a murder verdict introduced in its place.
South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the Constitutional Court found "no prospect of success" in Pistorius' appeal.
The case will now go back to Judge Thokozile Masipa - who cleared the athlete of murder in the original case - for sentencing on 18 April.
Prosecutors are believed to be targeting a sentence of at least 15 years in jail for Pistorius.
This is the end of the road for Oscar Pistorius. The Constitutional Court was his last chance to overturn his murder conviction.
Many in the country felt that judge Thokozile Masipa had erred when she convicted him of a lesser charge, but some still believed Pistorius had not intended to kill anyone, let alone Reeva Steenkamp.
Now a full bench of the country's most powerfully judges has ruled that Pistorius' latest bid has no chance of succeeding.
The next step now is for the two legal teams to present their arguments about the length of his sentence - and the state wants no less than 15 years.
He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail.
In December, 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.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-35720684
stephen25000:
It could not happen to a nicer man.
I wonder if he will make a run for it.
mercury:
He should have been allowed leave to appeal just in case he was innocent of not knowing it was his gf he was shooting at
This is what happens in cases with no witnesses, the jury and judges job is harder
I believe Nel the prosecutor was convinced of his guilt and Nel was a pretty top notch example of a good barrister as good as you can get versus the poor slimy defence...
jassi:
--- Quote from: mercury on March 06, 2016, 12:21:56 AM ---He should have been allowed leave to appeal just in case he was innocent of not knowing it was his gf he was shooting at
This is what happens in cases with no witnesses, the jury and judges job is harder
I believe Nel the prosecutor was convinced of his guilt and Nel was a pretty top notch example of a good barrister as good as you can get versus the poor slimy defence...
--- End quote ---
I don't see that who he shot is relevant. He shot through that door with intent to kill.
mercury:
--- Quote from: jassi on March 16, 2016, 07:17:51 PM ---I don't see that who he shot is relevant. He shot through that door with intent to kill.
--- End quote ---
It wasnt premeditated if it were burglars (so not murder but another charge) but his gf being in there and him knowing it would have been
I think
The orignal inditement was murder of his gf Reeva and he got off first time round, due to unlawful killing or somethng, now hes guilty of orignal charge
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