Judge Thokozile Masipa has rejected the prosecution’s leave to appeal the six-year sentence she gave to athlete Oscar Pistorius last month for murdering his girlfriend Reeva.
“I am not persuaded that there are reasonable prospects of success for an appeal. The application for leave to appeal against the sentence is dismissed with costs,” she said in the High Court in Johannesburg.
State prosecutors had argued that the sentence was too lenient, even taking into account the athlete’s disability.
Barry Roux, for Pistorius, had earlier argued that the State was merely dragging out legal processes and subjecting the former Paralympian to continued uncertainty. “What does the State want? 10 years? What is the practical effect of that?” News24 reports.
The prosecutors have 21 days to petition to Supreme Court of Appeal.
