Oscar Pistorius Guilty of Murder. Set To Go Back To Jail

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of murder after a South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict.South Africa’s Supreme Court on Thursday found Oscar Pistorius guilty of murder, overturning the double-amputee track star’s manslaughter conviction.

Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 after shooting four times through a locked toilet door. He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail. Pistorius will have to return to court to be re-sentenced, for murder.

Pistorius, a six-time Paralympic gold medallist whose legs were amputated below the knee as a baby, made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012, running on prosthetic "blades".

Judge Eric Leach delivers his judgement in the supreme court of appeal in Bloemfontein. Photograph: Reuters

Mr. Pistorius now faces a prison sentence of around 15 years, South African legal experts say. His sentence will be decided in Pretoria’s High Court by Judge Thokozile Masipa.

South African law has no provision for capital punishment.

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis - whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but judges can apply some discretion.

South African law does not make provision for someone to be placed under house arrest for more than five years, so Pistorius will be going back to prison, reports the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg

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