Pistorius lawyers: Prosecutors persisting with ‘failed case’

The parole board review of South African para-athlete Oscar Pistorius is due to take place on Thursday in which a decision will be taken on whether to release him to serve the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend.

Furthermore, Pistorius’ lawyers added: “The respondent’s financial ability [for a second murder trial] is non-existent”. Masipa however found Pistorius believed she was in his bedroom at the time.

Pistorius’s lawyers disagree, arguing the State does not have a legal basis to bring its appeal in the first place – because their challenge isn’t based on the judge’s legal interpretation but rather her evaluation of the evidence. If the panel of judges agrees with the state, Pistorius could be convicted of the much more serious charge of murder, which would see him sit behind bars for a minimum of 15 years.

His case will now go to the Supreme Court of Appeal in November.

Pistorius was given a five-year sentence for culpable homicide after a judge accepted his account that he had mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar, but prosecutors are applying through South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal for a retrial on the murder charge.

The prosecution’s arguments “are an attempt to reintroduce its failed case”, Pistorius’ lawyers wrote.

Firing through a locked bathroom door, Reeva was struck in her head and upper body on Valentine’s Day 2013, dying at the scene.

But the defense also argued a re-trial would be unfair on Pistorius because, for one, he is suffering financially from his long and expensive first trial and would not be able to afford another court battle.

Pistorius’s lawyer, Barry Roux, said allowing a retrial would amounted to his client being exposed to double jeopardy.

A re-trial would be prejudiced because witnesses would have been affected by the media coverage in what has been a high profile case, his lawyers argued.