Oscar Pistorius Now Faces Up To 15 Years For Murder Conviction Due To Murder Appeal Denial

Three years after South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius fatally shot and killed his girlfriend, he will now appear in Pretoria’s High Court in April to face conviction after the Constitutional Court dismissed his appeal “for lack of prospects of success" and found him guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's day in 2013.

The tribunal will argue for a sentence of at least 15 years at next month’s hearing, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority told SA local news media. The court had stated in its arugment in papers filed to the Constitutional Court that it was not in the interests of justice for Pistorius to be allowed to appeal the murder conviction.

Pistorius already served a year in jail, but was freed in October, to serve the remainder of his term at home, with stringent provisions on when he could leave home and how far he could travel. But now faces 15 years in jail.
The Constitutional Court ruling was made Wednesday but was made public Thursday.