Oscar Pistorius guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp

Expressing his passionate response to the overturned verdict, the South African-born maverick batsman tweeted, “Cheeeeerrrriiiiio, #OscarPistorius!”

The 29-year-old was released on October 19, 2015, after serving one-sixth of his five-year sentence, with the remainder to be completed under house arrest.

An appeals court decided Thursday that Oscar Pistorius got away with murder when he stood trial for killing his girlfriend, a ruling that will nearly certainly send the disgraced Olympian back to prison.

However, a senior judge of the South Africa supreme court of appeal overruled the previous conviction by dismissing the athlete’s claim that he pulled his gun on Steenkamp as an act of defence.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but exceptional circumstances in the case of the former track star, including time served, his disability and his status as a first-time offender, could mean a lower sentence.

The judge described the Paralympian’s testimony over the 2013 shooting of Reeva Steenkamp as “untruthful” and delivered a damning indictment of the original verdict.

“The identity of his victim is irrelevant to his guilt”. But Steenkamp’s mother, June, who has been a constant presence since the trial began, did. He speculated that prosecutors would want the sentencing process to proceed swiftly rather than let Pistorius remain under house arrest for an extended period.

“The fact is different judges reach different conclusions and in the light of an appeal structure, those of the appeal court prevail”.

Leach says the judges concluded with “no doubt” that Pistorius foresaw that the person behind the door would die after he pumped four bullets into it.

That, according to Supreme Court Justice Eric Leach, was incorrect.

Pistorius’ family gave a brief response, saying lawyers are studying the finding who will advise them on “options going forward”.

He may make his own appeal to the Constitutional Court – the country’s highest court.

Leach also said that the athlete could have had no rational reason for believing that his life was in danger.

“I’m overwhelmed. The women of South Africa, the women of the whole world, have won today”, league spokeswoman Mapaseka Nkoane said outside the court.

In a packed courtroom with Reeva Steenkamp’s family listening to every word, the judge said that when Oscar Pistorius chose to fire four shots through a closed toilet door, he had gambled with a person’s life – whoever that was.