Pistorius convicted of murder on appeal

Oscar Pistorius was convicted of murder on Thursday by South Africa’s
Supreme Court of Appeal, which threw out his earlier conviction on a
lesser charge for shooting dead his girlfriend in 2013.
Pistorius is now set to go back to jail after he was released on parole in
October having served one year of his five-year sentence for culpable
homicide — the equivalent of manslaughter.
“Guilty of murder, with the accused having criminal intent,” judge Eric
Leach told the court in a dramatic legal reversal.
“The matter is referred back to the trial court to consider an appropriate
sentence.”
The 29-year-old star Paralympic sprinter shot dead Reeva Steenkamp, a
model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day two years
ago.
He said during his trial that he mistook her for an intruder when he
opened fire at the locked door of his bedroom toilet.
“He did not know whether that person constituted any threat,” Leach
said in a damning rejection of the testimony from Pistorius and the
original trial judge’s ruling.
“It is inconceivable that a rational person thought he was entitled to fire
at this person with a heavy-duty firearm,” said Leach, who described
Pistorius’s testimony as “vacillating and untruthful”.
“He must have foreseen that the person behind the door might be
injured.
“He ought to have been convicted not of culpable homicide… but of
culpable murder.”
Pistorius, who was not be present in court in Bloemfontein, South
Africa’s judicial capital, now faces a minimum of 15 years in prison for
murder.
Awaiting his new sentence, he is likely to remain under house arrest at
his uncle’s mansion in the capital Pretoria.
– Dramatic trial –
His trial attracted worldwide attention as he denied killing Steenkamp in
a rage after the couple had gone to bed.
“I was overcome with fear,” he said while in the dock, describing how he
thought he heard an intruder in the bathroom.
He grabbed his gun, and rushed without his prostheses to the bathroom.
“Before I knew it, I’d fired four shots at the door,” he said, adding that
he ran back to the bed only to find that Steenkamp was not there.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp at the peak of his fame, following his historic
performance in London in 2012 when he became the first double-
amputee to race at Olympic level.
Last month he made his first appearance in public since leaving jail
when he reported for community service at a police station in Pretoria.
A Pistorius family spokesman said no statement would be released after
Thursday’s verdict.
Steenkamp’s mother June was in court, but made no immediate
comment.
His parole conditions have not been made public, but are reported to
require him to meet with Steenkamp’s parents if they wish.
Pistorius may make his own appeal to South Africa’s Constitutional
Court — the country’s highest court.
But defence lawyers say he cannot afford further legal battles, having
already paid huge bills.
In the aftermath of the killing, the Paralympic gold medallist lost his
glittering sports career, lucrative contracts and status as a global role
model for the disabled.

Posted: at 3-12-2015 02:35 PM (8 years ago) | Upcoming

But this young man looks very innocent, I think the government should really look into the issue

Posted: at 4-12-2015 09:53 PM (8 years ago) | Hero