Oscar Pistorius will learn whether he must return to jail on Thursday when the South African Supreme Court of Appeal decides if it will change his manslaughter conviction to murder for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day two years ago.
The Paralympic gold medalist has been under house arrest since October when he was released from jail.
High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down a five-year jail sentence in October last year for the culpable homicide of Steenkamp, who Pistorius, 29, said he thought was an intruder in his bathroom.
He was eligible to serve the rest of his term at home after 10 months.
Masipa’s judgment ruled out murder because she was convinced by the testimony of Pistorius that he “genuinely believed” there was an intruder in his home, according to Barry Roux, who is leading the defence.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius was guilty of murder because he must have known that he would kill someone when he fired through the toilet door.
Masipa ignored the testimony of witnesses and experts about what happened on the morning the first double amputee to compete at the Olympic Games shot Steenkamp with four hollow-point bullets in his bathroom, Nel said.
The full-bench of five appeal court judges gave Roux “a hard time” during arguments in court, Marius du Toit, a criminal defence lawyer at Du Toit Attorneys in Pretoria, the capital, said by phone.
Toit said: “It is very indicative that they don’t agree with you, and points towards the possibility that they may try to overturn Masipa’s judgment.”
The Bloemfontein-based court will announce its decision starting from 9:45am local time, Paul Myburgh, the registrar, said by phone.
Should the appeal judges change the verdict to murder, they will have to refer the matter back to the high court for sentencing.