Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty of Murder by South African Supreme Court

South Africa’s “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius was found guilty yesterday of murdering his girlfriend, in an appeals court ruling that could see him sent back to prison for up to 15 years.

The Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa ruled the lower court failed to accurately use the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius understood that the departure would have been a likely effect of his activities.

The BBC reported that the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years in prison, however judges have some discretion.

Six-time Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of killing his late girl friend, Reeva Steenkamp.

State prosecutors appealed the verdict of culpable homicide, seeking a conviction on more severe charges. South Africa media said Judge Thokozile Masipa, the judge who presided over the trial, will handle the matter.

Leach said while delivering the ruling on behalf of the five-judge appeals court in Bloemfontein city.

His attorneys can appeal to the Constitutional Court – but only if they can make the case that Pistorius did not receive a fair trial, which legal experts say will probably be a stretch. “I feel so proud now that she’s got some respect and she hasn’t lost her life for nothing”.

“We have to convince the court that we are dealing with errors of law”, chief state prosecutor Gerrie Nel said.

“He must have foreseen, and therefore did foresee that the person he was firing at behind the door might be fatally injured, yet he fired without having a rational or genuine fear that his life was in danger”.

Leach said regardless of who might have behind the door, Pistorius should have known someone could be killed if he fired. The prosecution said Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument.

That, according to Supreme Court Justice Eric Leach, was incorrect. Reeva’s mother June was in court when the decision was handed down, and was surrounded by and embraced by loved ones.

Mr. Pistorius, who gained worldwide fame as the first double-amputee to compete in Olympic sprinting competitions, claimed that he thought a burglar entered his bathroom in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Members of the ruling African National Congress party’s Women’s League have attended the court sessions in solidarity with Steenkamp’s family and in support of women’s rights.

The Pistorius family released a statement saying their lawyers would study the judgment. Consumed with emotion by his daughter’s death, voice cracking, he lamented, “I’m sure she’ll be able to rest as well now”.

The athlete has been living with his uncle in a wealthy suburb in the capital Pretoria since being freed on parole.