9th April, 2018
South Africa’s Constitutional Court on Monday dismissed an application by jailed Paralympian Oscar Pistorius to appeal his 13-year murder sentence.
The court, according to a statement by the court’s registrar, Kgwadi Makgakga, said “the application for leave to appeal should be dismissed.’’
The decision means that the 31-year-old, who was found guilty of murdering his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day in 2015 cannot make any further attempts to appeal his sentence.
“That’s the end of the road for Pistorius in terms of pushing the matter forward,” local radio station EWN quoted National Prosecution Authority spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku as saying.
Pistorius filed the application to appeal in December, saying that his sentence was unfair and the last court ruling had ignored important facts.
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The athlete’s case has been back and forth in South Africa’s courts for years.
An initial six-year sentence was more than doubled in late 2017 after the prosecution appealed, saying the original sentence was too lenient.
The South African sprinter, known as the “Blade Runner’’ for his prosthetics, maintains he believed Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her through the bathroom door.
Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated because of a congenital defect, soared to international fame after becoming the first double amputee to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games.