Oscar Pistorius denied appeal bid
Oscar Pistorius. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Oscar Pistorius denied appeal bid
Olympian Oscar Pistorius has lost his last attempt to appeal his conviction for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
South Africa’s top court, the Constitutional Court, on Thursday denied Pistorius’ right to to appeal.
It comes after the Supreme Court of Appeal in December upgraded the 29-year-old’s conviction to murder from culpable homicide. He had been sentenced to five years in prison for culpable homicide but now faces a minimum of 15 years in prison when sentenced in April.
The athlete, nicknamed “Blade Runner” because of the prosthetic legs he used to race, had filed papers to appeal against his conviction at the Constitutional Court on January 11. His appeal was challenged on the basis that he had been correctly found guilty.
Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
He has spent the past few months awaiting his appeal under house arrest at his uncle’s home in Pretoria.
