Oscar Pistorius guilty of MURDER and faces 15 years in jail as appeal succeeds

OSCAR Pistorius has been convicted of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp after an appeal overturned his previous conviction of culpable homicide. 

Oscar Pistorius during his court hearing

Reeva Steenkamp's father has said he is relieved with the verdict.

Before breaking down in tears, he said: "It's a big relief. I feel it's a fair decision that the judge gave,"  on local television station ANN7. 

The disgraced Olympic and Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius will be re-sentenced and will go back to jail on Thursday for at least 15 years for killing his girlfriend.  

As he started reading the ruling, judge Leach, said: "This is a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions." 

In a challenge to the court's decision to sentence him for 'culpable homicide', judges in Bloemfontein ruled on the state’s appeal against Oscar Pistorius’ culpable homicide conviction.

Last year a judge gave Pistorius a five-year jail sentence for "culpable homicide" of Reeva Steenkamp, but prosecutors say he should be convicted of murder for firing four shots through a locked toilet door.

Reeva Steenkamp

Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June, sat quietly in the courtroom during the announcement. Pistorius was not there.

In South Africa, a murder conviction usually carries a minimum sentence of 15 years, although Pistorius' lawyers are likely to argue that his physical disability and mental stress should be considered as mitigating circumstances.

Pistorius was released under house arrest on Oct. 19 after serving less than a year of his original sentence, in line with South African guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.

The judge said to the courtroom, in which Steenkamp's mother sat: "The accused ought to have been found guilty of murder." 

The Paralympic gold medallist was freed on parole in October after serving a fifth of the prison term given to him for the "culpable homicide" of Reeva Steenkamp, who he killed on Valentine's Day 2013.

Prosecutors were arguing that a high court judge had made legal errors when she decided not to convict Pistorius of the more serious charge of murder last year.

The defence argues that Oscar Pistorius has already served the period of imprisonment imposed by the trial court, so the conviction should stand.

Oscar Pistorius

State lawyers showed that the high court not only approached the circumstantial evidence incorrectly, but also incorrectly excluded relevant evidence.

Prosecutors said Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument, while the defence said Pistorius killed Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

Chief state prosecutor Gerrie Nel said: "We have to convince the court that we are dealing with errors of law. 

"The court ignored the most important circumstantial evidence that would make the respondent's version ... impossible."

Today, the judge, said: "A person should be committed of the crime he has convicted."

Judge Leach said the issue was whether Pistorius could foresee that there was a person behind the door who could die if he fired into it.

Members of the ruling African National Congress party's Women's League supported the verdict.

ears roll down Oscar Pistorius' face as he hears the verdict [Getty Images]

Reeva Steenkamp's family

They attended the court sessions in solidarity with Steenkamp's family and in support of women's rights.

At the original trial in September last year, high court Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled 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.
High court judge Masipa convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide in September 2014 after a sensational seven-month trial. He also convicted him of firing a pistol under the table of a packed restaurant but cleared of the illegal possession of ammunition and firing a pistol out of the sun-roof of a car.

Born without fibulas, Pistorius has both legs amputated below the knees before turning one-year-old.
The 'Blade runner', who runs on carbon fibre prosthetics blades, becam a Paralympic gold medallist over 200m in Athens in 2004 and he won three gold medals at the Paralympics in Beijing in 2008.
In what was hailed as a significant turning point for disabled athletes, Pistorius successfully won the right to race against able-bodied athletes at the London 2012 Olympics.