Oh boy, it goes from bad to bad to bad to worse for good guy turned villain, Oscar Pistorius.
Apparently, he was listening to Judge Masipa’s ruling on the radio yesterday, and when he learned that his acquittal for murder will be appealed, he absolutely ‘lost it’.
A prisoner at Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru II prison, where Pistorius is imprisoned, said the athlete “lost it” yesterday.
“He was listening to it [Judge Thokozile Masipa’s ruling] on the radio. He got up and stomped. He went straight to the gym. He started lifting weights like it was going out of fashion. He is p***ed off.
“Who wouldn’t be? He was definitely expecting to be out by August.”
He now has a very real threat of 15 years hanging over his head,and on top of this it is highly unlikely, according to a criminal law expert, that the Blade Runner will be released into house arrest in August as expected.
We all know he was sentenced to five years in prison for the negligent killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He has to serve a sixth of the sentence [10 months] before prison officials consider converting the rest to house arrest.
Prosecutors won a major victory yesterday when Judge Masipa ruled that her acquittal of Pistorius for Steenkamp’s murder could be appealed.
In the Pretoria High Court, Masipa granted the state’s request to refer to the Supreme Court of Appeal three questions of law:
- Were the principles of dolus eventualis applied correctly to the accepted facts and Pistorius’s conduct?
- Did Masipa correctly apply the legal principles pertaining to circumstantial evidence about the multiple defences Pistorius provided?
- Was Masipa correct in her reliance on Pistorius’s alternative version of events and was this version reasonably possibly true?
“Pistorius can barely console himself over the fact that he will be here for Christmas and New Year, instead of jolling with his family and friends,” said the prisoner at Kgosi Mampuru II.
“It’s about time he realised that this is the real world of crime.”
I think many people would agree with said prisoner, echoing his sentiments that Ozzie needs to now come to terms with the cards he dealt himself.
Criminal law expert Martin Hood (Sweet name!) said it was highly unlikely Pistorius would be released by August.
Hood said Masipa continued to be full of surprises. “It is a good ruling because finally we will have some sort of certainty, which will hopefully restore public confidence in the criminal justice system.
“The Supreme Court of Appeal will have access to the entire court record and can review any irregularities,” he said.
The time frame for the appeal depended on whether it was fast-tracked. “If not, it could take a year,” Hood said.
We know that Oscar will spend Christmas and New Year behind bars, but a change of course means things are not looking great for his prospects in 2015 either…
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