Oscar Pistorius to appeal 13-year murder sentence

Oscar Pistorius to appeal 13-year murder sentence

Tuesday, December 19, 2017 11:22 pm


Jailed Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has filed an application to South Africa’s Constitutional Court appealing his 13-year murder sentence, local media reported on Tuesday.

In the application, Pistorius said his sentence was unfair and the last court ruling had ignored material facts, News24 reported.
The athlete’s case had been back and forth in South Africa’s courts for years.

An initial six-year sentence was more than doubled in November after the prosecution appealed, saying the original sentence was too lenient.

Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated because of a congenital defect, soared to international fame after becoming the first double amputee to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games.

In 2015, in a case that gripped South Africa and the world, Pistorius was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day.

The South African sprinter, known as the “Blade Runner’’ for his prosthetics, maintains he believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her through the bathroom door. (dpa/NAN)


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