Pretoria - Oscar Pistoriuss escape from a murder charge might be short-lived as a growing number of legal experts believe the State will appeal Judge Thokozile Masipa’s judgment. According to the Sunday Times, Advocate Mannie Witz, a leading criminal law expert, said the State needs to appeal the conviction, stating that Masipa’s judgment needs to be considered by a senior bench to provide clarity for South African COURTS. He said only the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein could provide this. Culpable homicide conviction Masipa on Friday ruled that Pistorius, who shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked TOILET door of his Pretoria home on 14 February last year, was not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide. James Grant, professor of criminal law at the University of the Witwatersrand, said he thought State prosecutor Gerrie Nel would appeal as “Nel is under a duty to see that justice is DONE”. The National Prosecuting Authority has said it would only announce its intentions regarding an appeal after Pistorius has been SENTENCED. However, the Sunday Times reports that the prospect of such action is already being discussed. According to a senior member of the prosecuting team, Nel immediately raised the POSSIBILITYwith the team. “He is studying case law as we speak,” said the source. In terms of section 310 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the State can appeal a not-guilty verdict “on any question of the law”, reports the Sunday Times.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 09:14:20 +0000
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