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Fresh bid to increase jail term for Oscar Pistorius

Prosecutors in South Africa are set to make a fresh attempt to lengthen Oscar Pist...
Newstalk
Newstalk

17.06 15 Sep 2016


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Fresh bid to increase jail ter...

Fresh bid to increase jail term for Oscar Pistorius

Newstalk
Newstalk

17.06 15 Sep 2016


Share this article


Prosecutors in South Africa are set to make a fresh attempt to lengthen Oscar Pistorius' six-year murder sentence.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it will file papers on Friday. Two weeks ago, it asked the country's High Court to overturn Pistorius' sentence but the request was thrown out. Now it is taking its case to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

The 29-year-old runner shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his home on the 14th of February 2013.

Pistorius served one year of a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter initially but the conviction was later overturned by an appeals court.

He was then convicted of the more serious charge of murder. Pistorius could have been jailed for life but Judge Thokozile Masipa decided six years would be a sufficient sentence. The decision provoked outrage and the NPA announced it would seek a longer term.

Pistorius has continuously insisted the shooting was a mistake, saying he thought an intruder had entered his home and he feared for his safety. He fired four shots through a locked toilet door, hitting Ms Steenkamp in the head, hip and arm. He claimed in court it was only when he battered down the door with a cricket bat that he realised who was behind it.

Last month Pistorius denied "speculations" of a suicide attempt after he was treated at a private hospital in Pretoria for injuries suffered in jail. The Olympian and Paralympian was rushed to Kalafong Hospital from his prison cell in Pretoria. He told officials he had hurt himself falling out of bed.

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