Oscar Pistorius' conviction for killing his girlfriend has been changed from manslaughter to murder.
An appeal judge said the original verdict was "flawed" and the athlete will now be re-sentenced by the original court and will almost certainly go back to jail
A murder conviction carries a much heftier sentence: a minimum of 15 years in South Africa.
Justice Leach said Pistorius must have foreseen that firing into the small toilet cubicle would have led to death - but went ahead anyway.
Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June, closed her eyes but remained silent as the decision was read out in the Bloemfontein court.
The athlete is currently under house arrest at his uncle's luxurious home in Pretoria after serving less than a year for killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013.
Pistorius had said he accidentally shot dead his girlfriend after believing there was an intruder in his house.
He was originally convicted of culpable homicide - akin to manslaughter - after a long-running trial under the glare of the world's media.
No comments:
Post a Comment