Oscar Pistorius Launches Appeal Against Murder Conviction

Paralympic Champion Oscar Pistorius has applied to appeal against the murder conviction that was handed down on him for the killing of his girlfriend.

Under the new conviction for murder, he faces a minimum 15-year jail term that may be reduced due to time already spent in jail and the fact that he is a first-time offender. Pistorius has been on bail awaiting a new sentence since December, when judges found him guilty of murder, overturning his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

“We have lodged an application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court, the application has been served on the director of public prosecutions. They will now indicate when they will be opposing the application and what the grounds of opposition will be. Then we wait for the Constitutional Court to make a ruling on whether or not they will hear the appeal” Andrew Fawcett, a lawyer on Pistorius's legal team, said.