Pistorius prosecutors launch formal appeal against ‘shockingly light and inappropriate’ sentence

The prosecutors in the Oscar Pistorius trial have formally appealed both the verdict and the sentence in the case.

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by Ellie Hooper |
Published on

Branding the Paralympian’s five year prison term ’shockingly light and inappropriate,’ the prosecution filed papers at North Gauteng High Court, South Africa, stating that the punishment ‘would not have been imposed by any reasonable court.’

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Reeva Steenkamp died after being shot three times

Oscar was cleared of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, but convicted of Culpable Homicide, after he shot her three times through a locked bathroom door.

After a 7 month trial, the double-amputee was sentenced to five years in prison for his crime - causing outrage around the world.

The prosecution sought to prove that Oscar killed his 29-year-old girlfriend deliberately, after a heated argument.

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Reeva and Oscar before the tragic night in February 2013

But the defence stuck by Oscar’s story, that he had mistaken his lover for an intruder in his Pretoria home.

Now a formal appeal has been lodged, Judge Masipa will have to agree to hear it before it can progress. If she does not, the prosecution can take it to the Supreme Court,

Prosecutors have appealed against the verdict ‘based on the question of law,’ because they believe Masipa made a mistake when she acquitted Pistorius of murder.

If Pistorius were convicted of murder on appeal, he would face a minimum of 15 years in jail.

OSCAR PISTORIUS TRIAL IN PICTURES

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