On Valentine’s Day 2013, Olympian Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. It quickly became the biggest celebrity-crime story South Africa had ever seen, and much like American celebrity-crime stories, there were a lot of different versions about what happened, who was to blame, whether “celebrity” would affect the legal case, etc. At the end of the day, the trial was a circus and Pistorius was found not guilty of premeditated murder and guilty of a lesser charge, culpable homicide, which is basically manslaughter. Meaning, the court thought he accidentally shot and killed Reeva, that it wasn’t planned and it wasn’t the deadly result of one of Oscar’s temper tantrums.
So, long story short, Pistorius went to jail. For ten months. He was released under “house arrest” in October, and he’s been staying at his uncle’s mansion ever since, probably holed up with his 20-year-old girlfriend. But his case went to the South African appeals court… and now Pistorius has been found guilty of murder!
A South Africa appeals court on Thursday convicted Olympian Oscar Pistorius of murder, overturning a lower court’s conviction of manslaughter in the 2013 death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, according to multiple reports. The 29-year-old double-amputee was convicted of manslaughter – technically called culpable homicide – last year, but the appeals court has ruled that the manslaughter conviction was the result of misinterpreted laws and ignored evidence, NBC News reports.
Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Lorimer Leach delivered the ruling on Thursday and directed a trial court to impose a sentence, the Associated Press reports. A murder conviction in South Africa carries a 15-year minimum prison sentence.
Steenkamp’s mother, June, was present at the Bloemfontein hearing and let out a sigh as the ruling was delivered, NBC reports. Pistorius did not attend the hearing. His family said in a statement that it had not decided on the next steps, but had “taken note” of the ruling, the New York Times reports.
“The legal team will study the finding, and we will be guided by them in terms of options going forward,” the family said in a statement.
This line filled me with rage: “His family said in a statement that it had not decided on the next steps, but had ‘taken note’ of the ruling.” O RLY? Take note of 15 years in jail, a—hole. Take note of the fact that you murdered your girlfriend when she had locked herself in the bathroom to protect herself from YOU and your temper. Sigh… I mean, I’m glad that there is some kind of justice for one small moment. But I’m assuming Pistorius can appeal this decision? And I’m assuming that in the meantime, he’ll be allowed to remain at his uncle’s mansion?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
YES!
yeah, close to my reaction, too.
which was “GOOD!”
Yes, very satisfied that justice has been done.
Justice is finally done. Now put him in the slammer for good.
Just when I thought the news couldn’t get anymore depressing I read this and almost cried from…JOY!!!!!!! I had no idea the earlier decision could be appealed and this made me so so happy!!!!!!! Finally some justice for that poor girl! I hate this ‘man’.
Good riddance to his murderous behind.
F*ck you, murdering a**hole.
Perfect
+2.
Justice for Reeva!! Finally!
I heard this on the radio this morning. I’ve said from the beginning, even if you buy his (bulls**t, IMO) story in the first place about a robber or something, he had to know, shooting into that tiny bathroom, that whoever was on the other side would be dead when he was finished. That’s murder, end of story.
That’s exactly what the judge said, too… that regardless of his victim’s identity, he absolutely intended to take a life.
that’s good, because as I understand it, South African law leans towards people who are trying to defend themselves, but even if that were the case, you don’t have to kill the other person to protect yourself from them. There are other options, and living in a secure compound as Pistorius did, he had options.
ITA. His “story” is as lame as Jeffrey MacDonald’s, who continues to deny his guilt and tie up the court system with appeals.
OMG the Jeffrey McDonald case!! Good call!! I get so upset at the thought of that case but you are right his BS story is as plausible as Oscar’s “I thought it was a robber” story.
About time. The scumbag.
Holy crap, justice actually had a win?!
After this week of clusterf*ckery, this is a great little ray of light poking out from the clouds.
Rest in Peace, Reeva. Hopefully her family can take some solace that the man who murdered her is now actually convicted of murder.
Good. He’s a complete piece of sh*t. Literal human garbage. I hope he does /hard/ time in prison, now.
Glad to hear he’s being held accountable and the fluff ruling didn’t stick. What happens from here though still remains to be seen. Rest in peace Reeva.
Take note a-hole indeed. I imagine him looking into disguises, hatching an escape plan.
So what does this mean. Does he have the opportunity to appeal and if so, what is the deadline or is he heading straight to jail. Not familiar with South Africa appeal court.
I think I read that in order to appeal, he’d have to prove the judge violated his constitutional rights.
my cynical side says to wait a little longer to say that justice has been done, until he’s actually in jail. He’s rich and white in a country that is as complicated as the US in terms of its judicial system and race.
I’m with you. Not celebrating job well done until he is actually in prison.
I read in a BBC article that he will have a sentencing hearing scheduled, which won’t be until next year, so I assume he will remain under house arrest until that time. Which is ridiculous. He should be taken into custody and sit in jail until his sentencing.
I agree he should be in jail like most peasants. May this be the year of justice for the innocent. I just won a five year litigation against my abusive ex- not for myself for our small child. May peace prevail.
Finally. The first ruling was a disgrace, especially once he got to do house arrest, I’m glad it didn’t stick.
Good. Lock him up in a cell the size of a small bathroom and throw away the key. Justice for Reeva!
Never thought I’d see the day. It was an unanymous decision by the appeal board. Apparently Pistorius has ten days to file for appeal and will then be told if he allowed to or not. They’re saying that he has no cash left to fund any legal appeals even if he was allowed to proceed.
His lawyer was conviced Pistorius ‘was going to lose’ and his convinction turned to murder. The defence’s argument was simply that they could not send him back to jail because prison conditions were too bad.
I was so puzzled with the original verdict- the judge seemed to contradict herself with her findings and final decision.
They’re calling her back to re-sentence which I find quite worrying. She seemed overly sympathetic to him the first time round so might give him the lightest possible sentence. I’m hoping she will go the other way and be quite harsh to protect her own reputation.
Yes considering her ruling has just been overturned – she will be looking to save face. I don’t think he’ll get 15 years, maybe 10 and taking into account time already served he could be eligible for parole in 5. He will however be branded a murderer for the rest of his miserable life. May he rot in hell.
Yes to this all.
As long as he gets more time in jail, I’m happy. Her poor family. I can’t imagine the hell they’ve gone through.
Finally!! I try not to get too bent out of shape about every tragic story out there, but when he was found not guilty the first time, I was pretty upset and very disappointed in the judicial system. Finally, justice for Reeva and her family and friends.
This fills me with hope that justice will be served. Good job, SA Appeals Court! I never understood how his actions could be considered anything but murder, and I hope he goes to jail now before he kills again.
Good point GNAT. This entitled piece of crap will for sure kill again. Ugh I just hate him.
Christmas came early.
In all seriousness i’m so skeptical of most justice systems i’ll save the hoorays until he’s behind bars with no more ways out. Once that reality sinks in i’ll mark this 1 a win.
Rest in Peace, Reeva.
Thank God! Taken note indeed. Eff you Oscar.
Great news. I hope he goes away for a long time. All his histrionics in court and his BS excuses were pathetic and am glad the court saw through it. Maybe finally the Steenkamp’s can move on and try to heal. RIP Reeve.
I imagine that right about now he is looking for any way out. He’s a gutless coward.
I’m confused. Is this even allowed? In my country an appeals court cannot impose a more serious crime or penalty than the one imposed by the initial court. I thought that was standard in the world but I guess not…? Still happy though.
It’s not possible in the US, it’s kind of similar to double jeopardy. Only the defense can appeal a verdict here. But courts overruled the original Amanda Knox verdict in Spain.
I know it’d never fly here, but if it did maybe justice would be done for the victims of OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, Michael Jackson (yeah, I said it. The guy was a pedophile), and all of the lesser known garbage walking around free.
I agree KB. So many people are in denial about MJ but there is a lot of evidence against him.
They can only appeal on an error in law, they can’t appeal factual findings (hence having to accept the version of the “intruder”). Luckily, the trial judge did make a (big) error in applying certain elements of the law, thus opening the channels of appeal to the state. It is apparently a very rare occurrence.
I read yesterday that his appeal chances are pretty slim. It would be based on his constitutional rights being violated and that is evidently a steep hill to climb.
Yes he has no grounds to appeal using violation of his constitutional rights as he can’t prove it plus he has no money. He owes he legal team money and am sure his family don’t have that kind of dough.
He was a pampered celebrity, with a temper that was allowed to act any way he wanted and be immune, because of fame and money for years. I hope the justice finally matches the crime. These people that do these ghastly things forever ruin their lives. I always wonder if it is worth it to them after deed is done?
At least he still gets to be alive unlike poor Reeva who was sentenced to death for displeasing this psycho
I’d like to be optimistic about this, but it never seems like notorious people like this ever serve meaningful time for the crimes they do.
On another note, I enjoy hearing about legal systems around the world and how they differ from ours. Found guilty on appeal? What?
^^^^This!!!!
This doesn’t mean anything unless he goes to prison. I don’t know South African law but can’t he spend years appealing?
He can appeal – has 10 days to do so, but that doesn’t mean the court will allow it. he asks for an appeal and they say yes or no. Don’t know how long it takes there to appeal if he is granted it. It bothers me still that he isn’t in jail. He’s still under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion…unbelievable. I’m also worried he won’t see prison regardless of a new sentence. I have no idea what the prisons in Africa are like, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t equipped for special needs and his lawyer will use that to get him some kind of supervised probation or just regular jail. IDK.
This can only be appealed if his constitutional rights have been violated, which they haven`t.
So, it looks like he is going back to jail for at least 15 years!
Judge Masipa got a rather nasty pick on the nose, which she deserved.
Misinterpreted the law!
SO, Finally justice has been served!
R.I.P. Reeva
From the BBC news:
“Can he appeal?
Yes, but only if his lawyers are convinced that the appeal judges violated his constitutional rights. So it’s a high threshold, and hard to meet.”
Glad to hear this. Really.
Every time I can’t stop thinking how scared must have been that poor girl locked in the bathroom.
Good. It was so obviously murder right from the beginning, and his histrionics in court were appalling. The sobbing, the vomiting, the hysterics…contemptible. I hope he goes to a real jail for a long, long time. No more house arrest.
While I definitely think he has it coming, I’m glad to be an American where an Appeals Court can only confirm the decision or overturn it (he’s guilty so it stands or he’s not guilty hems free) OR remand to retrial (start over since you failed on this prticular issue). How terrifying that an appeals Court can issue a verdict and sentence without a retrial.
Appeals courts here don’t ever say someone is not guilty, only that something improper occurred in the trial (be it a technicality or something that actually prevented the person from getting a fair trial).
Real life version of How To Get Away With Murder.
Am glad justice has been served for Reeva. Shame the SA courts can’t bring themselves to chuck Dewanii in jail after he paid men to murder his bride on their honeymoon – he’s another one who got away with it.
A part of men thinks he may not see jail and that his legal team will use his disability to get him house arrest or to serve his time in some other, more relaxed/luxurious detention facility. If its the same judge at the last time he’ll get the cushy prison. Either that or he may do a runner, he isn’t tagged or anything.
I actually believe passionately that Dewanii was innocent. All of the evidence pointed to the murder being a run-of-the-mill robbery until the police decided that this high-profile case needed a prestigious scapegoat. They distorted the “evidence” to suit their theory, which is always a bad, defective investigative approach. Compare the culprits’ original stories with what they said later when they were given incentives to back up the investigators’ assumptions. Total set-up. The result in that case was correct.
As a SA lawyer dealing with domestic violence on a daily basis the original verdict, and the message it sent out to our society, sickened me. South Africa has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world. All I can say is finally justice has been served! RIP Reeva.
Very shady story. Nothing added up. And the point is exactly that: why would you fire three or four shots into the bathroom when you knew someone was in there? Intent to kill or recklessness to it obvious. And why was the bathroom door locked? The apartment just wasn’t big enough or set out in a way that would make his story believable.
His ex-gf, Samantha Taylor, has been active on Twitter and in interviews about not believing his story. I do hope he gets to serve his time in the hospital wing though. He’s going to have a terrible time if he has to do it with the mainstream prison population. COnditions in SA jails are beyond belief.
I hope he actually serves his sentence and doesn’t weasel his way around everything, like he’s been able to do.
“O RLY? Take note of 15 years in jail, a—hole.” This!