Oscar Pistorius Conviction Set For Appeal

A court in South Africa will on Tuesday consider the appeal over the conviction of Oscar Pistorius that could see him sent back to jail

Oscar Pistorius a former Paralympic sprinter was found guilty in September last year of culpable homicide after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. State prosecutors will try to convince five judges that Pistorius should be found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in the prison at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein (South Africa's highest court for non-constitutional matters)

Pistorius spent one year behind bars out of his five years sentence as the 28 years old was released on October 19 to spend the remainder of his term at his uncle's mansion in Pretoria. Under South African law, an offender sentenced to five years or less in jail can be released after serving one-sixth of the term which, in Pistorius' case, was 10 months.

A panel of five judges will hear the arguments from the state and defense, with the proceedings scheduled to last one day. The judges are expected to announce a future date to deliver their ruling. Pistorius, who has not been seen in public since his release on October 19, will not attend the hearing.

If his conviction is upgraded to murder by the five-judge panel at the appeal, Pistorius faces going back to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa.