A South African judge has ruled that prosecutors can appeal against the acquittal on murder charges of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. The double amputee was jailed for five years in October for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa said prosecutors could appeal against the acquittal, but not the five-year sentence given for the lesser charge of culpable homicide. Pistorius lawyers had opposed the appeal request. The case will now go before South Africas Supreme Court of Appeal. Yesterday was a big win for the state prosecutors. Although they lost their bid on the sentence, Judge Thokozile Masipa gave the go-ahead for them to appeal the conviction. This was always Gerrie Nels main intention. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) will now decide if the principles of law were applied correctly. A panel of up to five judges has the power to not only overturn Judge Masipas conviction but can also rule on a minimum sentence - which in the case of murder would be 15 years in prison. Although the sentence appeal was denied, veteran advocate Mannie Witz told me that before the SCA this would make little difference. The appeal judges power is such that they can also consider the sentence and find that the appeal should have been granted. For Pistorius, this means the case is far from over and if the state has its way, the worst is yet to come.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 06:23:57 +0000
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