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| Oscar Pistorius prosecutors ask appeal court to convict him of murder | Oscar Pistorius prosecutors ask appeal court to convict him of murder |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Related: Oscar Pistorius appeal: state seeks murder conviction – live | |
| South African paralympian Oscar Pistorius, released on house arrest last month after serving a fifth of his prison term for killing his girlfriend, faces years more in jail if state lawyers can get his conviction scaled up to murder from culpable homicide. | South African paralympian Oscar Pistorius, released on house arrest last month after serving a fifth of his prison term for killing his girlfriend, faces years more in jail if state lawyers can get his conviction scaled up to murder from culpable homicide. |
| Prosecutors will argue before the supreme court that a high court judge was wrong to let Pistorius off the more serious charge after he fired four shots through a door on Valentine’s day 2013, killing Reeva Steenkamp. | Prosecutors will argue before the supreme court that a high court judge was wrong to let Pistorius off the more serious charge after he fired four shots through a door on Valentine’s day 2013, killing Reeva Steenkamp. |
| Pistorius will not be present at the one-day hearing in Bloemfontein, 400km (250 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, his lawyer Barry Roux told Reuters. | Pistorius will not be present at the one-day hearing in Bloemfontein, 400km (250 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, his lawyer Barry Roux told Reuters. |
| A panel of five judges will hear the appeal, and could either order a retrial, convict Pistorius of murder, or reject the prosecution’s appeal, legal experts have said. | A panel of five judges will hear the appeal, and could either order a retrial, convict Pistorius of murder, or reject the prosecution’s appeal, legal experts have said. |
| “The [high] court not only approached the circumstantial evidence incorrectly, but also incorrectly excluded relevant evidence,” prosecutors said in documents filed at the court. | “The [high] court not only approached the circumstantial evidence incorrectly, but also incorrectly excluded relevant evidence,” prosecutors said in documents filed at the court. |
| Related: Reeva Steenkamp's mother says she did not want Oscar Pistorius to suffer | |
| Pistorius denied deliberately killing Steenkamp during his six-month trial, saying he mistook her for an intruder at his home. | Pistorius denied deliberately killing Steenkamp during his six-month trial, saying he mistook her for an intruder at his home. |
| Prosecutors said Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp, who they said fled to the toilet during a row. | Prosecutors said Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp, who they said fled to the toilet during a row. |
| But high court Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled last year that the state had failed to prove intent, or dolus eventualis, a legal concept that centres on a person being held responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their actions. | But high court Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled last year that the state had failed to prove intent, or dolus eventualis, a legal concept that centres on a person being held responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their actions. |
| The state insists Masipa misinterpreted some parts of the law and that Pistorius must have known that the person behind the door could be killed. | The state insists Masipa misinterpreted some parts of the law and that Pistorius must have known that the person behind the door could be killed. |
| A murder conviction would result in a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. | A murder conviction would result in a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. |
| Related: Oscar Pistorius trial: the full story, day by day | |
| After the trial last September, Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, was also convicted of firing a pistol under the table of a Johannesburg restaurant but was found not guilty on charges of illegal possession of ammunition and firing a gun out of a car sun-roof. | After the trial last September, Pistorius, a gun enthusiast, was also convicted of firing a pistol under the table of a Johannesburg restaurant but was found not guilty on charges of illegal possession of ammunition and firing a gun out of a car sun-roof. |
| He was freed two weeks ago in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only a sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars. | He was freed two weeks ago in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only a sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars. |
| He has not been seen in public since then and is under house arrest that confines him to his uncle’s home in a wealthy Pretoria suburb for the duration of his sentence. | He has not been seen in public since then and is under house arrest that confines him to his uncle’s home in a wealthy Pretoria suburb for the duration of his sentence. |