Date set for Pistorius case appeal
Prosecutors in South Africa will appeal against Oscar Pistorius’s acquittal on a murder charge for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in November, Supreme Court of Appeal announced today.
The court did not fix an exact date, but said that it will be in November - three months after Pistorius, who was convicted of a lesser charge, is eligible for release from prison to go to house arrest.
Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, similar to manslaughter, and sentenced to five years in jail last year for killing Steenkamp in 2013.
Prosecutors appealed, saying the double-amputee Olympic athlete should have been found guilty of murder.
Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Paul Myburgh said that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux have met with the president of the court.
If released, Pistorius would be under strict probation conditions and would be monitored, Mr Modise said. He said authorities would consider allowing him to begin training again.
However, Pistorius will also again face the possibility of a minimum of 15 years in prison if a panel of judges at the Supreme Court of Appeal overturns the original decision in his murder trial and convicts him of murder.
The court has not yet set an exact date for the start of the appeal, court registrar Paul Myburgh said, but it will be this November.
Last year, prosecutors appealed the decision by trial Judge Thokozile Masipa to find Pistorius guilty of the lesser charge, saying he should have been convicted of murder for shooting four times through the toilet cubicle door, killing Ms Steenkamp.
In December, judge Masipa granted prosecutors permission to appeal her finding at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Mr Myburgh said chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux had already met with the president of the court.
Some of the details of the appeal hearing have been ironed out: Prosecutors must submit their court papers outlining their argument by August 17. Pistorius’s defence team must submit its response by Sept. 17, Mr Myburgh said.
