Oscar Pistorius too broke for new murder trial

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius reacts as judgment is being handed down in his murder trial at the High Court in Pretoria on Friday, 12 September 2014.

Pistorius, 28, was found guilty of culpable homicide and a firearms offence in October, 2014.

A maximum sentence of five years in prison was handed down, although prosecutors were granted leave to appeal the athlete’s acquittal on the charge or murder by judge Thokozile Masipa.

But in a 40-plus page argument against the state, the Pistorius defence team said prosecutors were trying to reintroduce a “failed case”, and was attacking the court’s findings and not questions of law.

Barrister Barry Roux added that his client’s ability to pay lawyers is “non-existent”, with a retrial possible in the future.

And, even if the State does show that Judge Masipa misapplied the law, they argue, the only option the Appeal Court has is to refer this case back for a retrial.

Pistorius was expected to be released from prison last month to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.

The Prosecution are campaigning to have Oscar’s conviction upgraded from Culpable Homicide to Murder, stating that the Judge incorrectly applied legal principle when reaching the verdict.

He said Pistorius did not have money to mount a second defence.

Mr Roux says a re-trial wouldn’t be fair as witnesses will have seen extensive media coverage, which could “contaminate and confuse” the reliability and objectivity of another hearing.

An exact date for the Supreme Court appeal hasn’t yet been announced.

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 broke from his long and expensive first trial and wouldn’t be able to afford another court battle.

“They could either uphold the original decision of the parole board or it could substitute it with its own decision”.