Oscar Pistorius to be Charged for Murder, Not Manslaughter

Oscar Pistorius, convicted for killing his girlfriend, will face murder charges instead of culpable homicide.

Oscar Pistorius is being charged with murder, and not culpable homicide. (Photo: Reuters)

South Africa’s top appeals court ruled on Thursday that paralympian Oscar Pistorius’ conviction be scaled up to murder from culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Last year a judge gave Pistorius a five-year jail sentence for the “culpable homicide” of Steenkamp, but prosecutors argued that the Pistorius should be convicted for murder.

He is currently under house arrest, having spent one year of his original five-year sentence. He will return to court to be re-sentenced for murder.

The double-amputee athlete, famously nicknamed the blade runner, was released from prison on October 19 this year. Under South African law, he was eligible for release under “correctional supervision,” having served a sixth of his sentence.