SOUTH Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has found Oscar Pistorius guilty of murder, accepting the state’s appeal to change the previous culpable homicide verdict.
Judge Leach overturned the previous Supreme Court lesser crime conviction of culpable manslaughter for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He found Judge Masipa had made legal “errors” but said she conducted the trial with “dignity and patience”.
Pistorius, who is currently living under house arrest, must return for sentencing.
A murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa. However, the law allows for a lesser sentence to be imposed in exceptional circumstances.
Reeva Steenkamp’s father he was “satisfied” with the upscaled ruling.
“I’m satisfied with everything now,” Barry Steenkamp said.
“I would hope to God that all of this could have been prevented, but seeing that it has been done, let us now all get on with our lives.”
The verdict that was read by Judge Eric Leach, who was part of a panel of five judges that made the decision, said Judge Thokozile Maspia’s judgment against Pistorius was filled with “fundamental errors”.
“The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder on the basis that he had fired the fatal shots with criminal intent,” Leach said to the courtroom, in which Steenkamp’s mother sat.
The star Paralympic sprinter was found guilty in 2014 of the lesser crime of culpable homicide — the equivalent of manslaughter — for shooting dead Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Pistorius claimed he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he opened fire with his pistol, was released from prison on parole in October after serving one year of his five-year sentence.
Justice Leach said regardless of who might have behind the door, Pistorius should have known someone could be killed if he fired.
“The identity of his victim is irrelevant to his guilt,” the judge said.
Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, sat quietly in the courtroom during the announcement, which was carried on TV. Pistorius was not there.
The former athlete’s family said in a statement that it had taken note of the judgment.
“The legal team will study the finding and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward,” the statement said.
A date for Pistorius’ new sentencing will be announced in the city of Pretoria, where he had been tried and imprisoned.
At the crux of the case was how trial judge Thokozile Masipa interpreted the principle of “dolus eventualis” -- awareness of the likely outcome of an action — under which she acquitted Pistorius of murder.
During a one-day hearing at the appeal court in November, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius intended to kill whoever was behind the locked toilet door through which he fired four bullets.
Pistorius was released on October 19 to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion in the capital Pretoria.
Judge Leach overturned the previous Supreme Court lesser crime conviction of culpable manslaughter for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He found Judge Masipa had made legal “errors” but said she conducted the trial with “dignity and patience”.
Pistorius, who is currently living under house arrest, must return for sentencing.
A murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa. However, the law allows for a lesser sentence to be imposed in exceptional circumstances.
Reeva Steenkamp’s father he was “satisfied” with the upscaled ruling.
“I’m satisfied with everything now,” Barry Steenkamp said.
“I would hope to God that all of this could have been prevented, but seeing that it has been done, let us now all get on with our lives.”
The verdict that was read by Judge Eric Leach, who was part of a panel of five judges that made the decision, said Judge Thokozile Maspia’s judgment against Pistorius was filled with “fundamental errors”.
“The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder on the basis that he had fired the fatal shots with criminal intent,” Leach said to the courtroom, in which Steenkamp’s mother sat.
The star Paralympic sprinter was found guilty in 2014 of the lesser crime of culpable homicide — the equivalent of manslaughter — for shooting dead Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Pistorius claimed he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he opened fire with his pistol, was released from prison on parole in October after serving one year of his five-year sentence.
Justice Leach said regardless of who might have behind the door, Pistorius should have known someone could be killed if he fired.
“The identity of his victim is irrelevant to his guilt,” the judge said.
Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, sat quietly in the courtroom during the announcement, which was carried on TV. Pistorius was not there.
The former athlete’s family said in a statement that it had taken note of the judgment.
“The legal team will study the finding and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward,” the statement said.
A date for Pistorius’ new sentencing will be announced in the city of Pretoria, where he had been tried and imprisoned.
At the crux of the case was how trial judge Thokozile Masipa interpreted the principle of “dolus eventualis” -- awareness of the likely outcome of an action — under which she acquitted Pistorius of murder.
During a one-day hearing at the appeal court in November, state prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius intended to kill whoever was behind the locked toilet door through which he fired four bullets.
Pistorius was released on October 19 to spend the remainder of his sentence under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion in the capital Pretoria.
