South African court dismisses Pistorius' appeal
March 3, 2016
South Africa's Constitutional Court rejected Olympian Oscar Pistorius' attempt to appeal a murder conviction for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, authorities said on Thursday.
"The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal because there are no prospects of success," National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told the AFP news agency.
Mfaku said the court decided to reject the appeal on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old South African Olympian faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for the murder of Steenkamp, a model and law school graduate.
Pistorius has been awaiting a new sentence since December, when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned an earlier manslaughter conviction. His lawyers argued that the SCA had "acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally."
The double-amputee is expected to attend a sentencing hearing on April 18.
In 2013, Pistorius killed Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He said he mistook her for an intruder, which prompted him to shoot four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.
ls/ (Reuters, AFP, dpa)