Judge Thokozile Masipa has dismissed the State's application for leave to appeal the sentence handed down to former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius with costs.
The State earlier today argued that an appeal court may impose a harsher sentence on Oscar Pistorius, saying that Judge Masipa may have misdirected herself.
Addressing the matter, Judge Masipa said that she is not persuaded that another court will come to different decision.The former athlete was initially convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013 and sentenced to five years in prison but the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled he should be convicted of murder and be re-sentenced.
Last month, Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years in jail which the State believes is lenient.
Advocate Gerrie Nel says the State’s appeal is no insult to Masipa but he believes another court may come to a different decision.Nel says a six-year-jail sentence for murder is shockingly lenient. He says Pistorius formed the intention to shoot when he armed himself in the bedroom.
Nel says the fact that Pistorius thought the person behind the door was an intruder does not make the crime less serious.
He has again raised concerns about the former athlete choosing not to testify during sentencing argument.
In his argument, Advocate Barry Roux says the case has been exhausted and Pistorius has been punished again and again.
Roux argued Pistorius has been sentenced to an effective eight years in prison if his first year behind bars and house arrest are taken into consideration, saying this is far from lenient.
