South African state prosecutors filed an appeal yesterday against the verdict of culpable homicide passed on Oscar Pistorius for killing his girlfriend, arguing the athlete should have been convicted of murder.
The Paralympic gold medallist, 29, admitted to killing Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 by firing four shots into the locked door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it.
Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, is expected to wear an electronic tracking tag when he is released from prison.
His release is in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.
Pistorius is due to serve the rest of his term in “custodial supervision”, a form of house arrest. He will be mostly confined to the home of his uncle Arnold, a high-walled manor in the leafy suburb of Waterkloof that features more than a dozen bedrooms, a private gym, outdoor swimming pool and landscaped gardens.
During sentencing, Judge Thokozile Masipa said the state had failed to prove Pistorius’s intent to kill when he fired.
Prosecutors want the verdict, equivalent to manslaughter, changed to murder because they argue that if Pistorius knew someone was behind the toilet door when he fired, he had the intention to kill, one of the prosecution team said. Many legal experts agree.
“Given he fired four shots through a door when he knew someone was inside, I think there is a good chance the appeal will be successful,” William Booth, a lawyer who has followed the trial closely, said.
“We filed the appeal today,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said.
Pistorius’s legal team has a month to file its response to the appeal, which the Supreme Court is expected to hear in November, Mfaku added.
The Paralympic gold medallist has served 10 months of a five-year sentence
Steenkamp’s parents did not respond to requests for comment. They said at the time of Pistorius’s sentencing that spending 10 months in prison “for taking a life is simply not enough” and it would send out the wrong message to society.
Pistorius’s time in Waterkloof could be short-lived if state prosecutors succeed in overturning the verdict.
If convicted of murder, Pistorius will likely be given a custodial sentence of at least 15 years. The appeal hearing is due to start in November.
Pistorius was once considered one of the ultimate symbols of triumph over adversity, fighting authorities to become the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics.
Though he could return to training, Pistorius is unlikely to ever compete at the highest level again given his age and lack of intensive training since Steenkamp’s death, experts say.