#OscarPistorius sentencing set for April 18
An anxious few weeks lie ahead for Oscar Pistorius, as the State has already indicated that it will seek the maximum prescribed sentence.
|||Pretoria - The Constitutional Court late on Thursday informed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that it turned down the application by Oscar Pistorius for leave to appeal the finding of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that he is guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The effect of this is that Pistorius will next month face the high court in Pretoria as a convicted murderer and he faces a possible 15-year jail sentence.
The Constitutional Court was Pistorius's last life line to escape a sentence on a charge of murder.
Nine judges of the ConCourt were unanimous in their finding that there was no success on appealing his murder conviction.
The notice send to the NPA simply read: “ The Constitutional Court has considered this application for leave to appeal. It has concluded that the application should be dismissed for lack of prospects of success."
Pistorius turned to the ConCourt in a bid to overthrow the findings of the SCA on the basis that he did not have a fair hearing in Bloemfontein. He submitted that the court made findings on the facts of the case, instead of on matters in law.
He is due back in the high court on April 18, when trial Judge Thokozile Masipa has to reconsider his sentence. It is expected that the defence will present mitigating factors, warranting a lesser sentence than the prescribed minimum of 15 years.
NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku on Thursday evening said the State will definitely ask for the full 15-year term.
State challenges Oscar’s appeal
Pistorius killed his model girlfriend on Valentine's Day two years ago, after he fired four shots into the toilet door behind which she was. She was visiting him at the time at his Silver Woods mansion, east of Pretoria. Pistorius maintained throughout the trial that he mistook her for an intruder in his house. He said he had no idea she was behind the door, as he thought she was still in bed.
Judge Masipa convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide and sentenced him to a five-year jail term, of which he had to serve 10 months behind bars.
Pistorius served his stint in jail and was released under correctional supervision after nearly a year. This meant house arrest at his uncle Arnold Pistorius's Waterkloof mansion.
Following the SCA ruling the high court upped his bail and released him under strict conditions. He may only leave his uncle's home between 6am and noon daily.
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