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Case file · High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, and Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius: charges, verdict and sentence

Director of Public Prosecutions, Gauteng
v.
Pistorius
High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, and Supreme Court of Appeal, South Africa · 2014 to 2029

Oscar Pistorius was acquitted of murder at trial in 2014 and convicted of culpable homicide for the 2013 shooting death of his partner, receiving five years. On a prosecution appeal the Supreme Court of Appeal replaced that verdict with murder in December 2015, and in November 2017 it increased his sentence from six years to 13 years and five months. He was released on parole effective 5 January 2024, the Department of Correctional Services said, and will be supervised until his sentence expires in 2029.

Where it stands nowPistorius has been on parole since 5 January 2024, according to the Department of Correctional Services, and is under community corrections supervision with conditions until his sentence expires in December 2029, as reported by AP and CBS News.

Charges and outcomes

ChargeOutcomeDate
Murder (count 1)1Convicted3 December 2015
Culpable homicide (trial verdict on count 1, later set aside)1,5Conviction overturned3 December 2015
Reckless endangerment, discharging a firearm in a restaurant5,6Convicted12 September 2014
Two further firearms counts (unlawful ammunition, firing through a car sunroof)5Acquitted12 September 2014

Sentence

Five years for culpable homicide (2014), replaced after the murder conviction by six years (2016), increased on appeal to 13 years and five months (2017). Released on parole effective 5 January 2024, with the sentence expiring in December 2029.

Court record, stage by stage

  1. verdictFound not guilty of murder and guilty of culpable homicide and of one firearms count, a shooting in a restaurant1,5
    High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, Masipa J with two assessors
  2. sentenceSentenced to five years for culpable homicide and a concurrent three years, suspended for five years, on the firearms count1,6
    High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria
  3. appealSupreme Court of Appeal set aside the culpable homicide conviction, substituted a conviction for murder with dolus eventualis, and referred the case back for sentence1
    Supreme Court of Appeal
  4. resentencingSentenced to six years' imprisonment for murder2
    High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, Masipa J
  5. appealSupreme Court of Appeal upheld the prosecution's appeal and replaced the sentence with 13 years and five months2
    Supreme Court of Appeal
  6. appealConstitutional Court dismissed his application for leave to appeal the 13 year and five month sentence, finding it did not engage the court's jurisdiction. The order was made public on 9 April 20183
    Constitutional Court of South Africa
  7. appealParole board found he was not yet eligible for parole because he had yet to serve a minimum detention period, the Department of Correctional Services said7
    Correctional Supervision and Parole Board
  8. appealParole board approved his placement on parole effective 5 January 20244,8
    Correctional Supervision and Parole Board
  9. releaseReleased on parole into community corrections, subject to conditions until the end of his sentence. The Department of Correctional Services said he was a parolee effectively from 5 January 20249,10

Notable rulings

Sources

  1. SAFLII (Supreme Court of Appeal judgment), Director of Public Prosecutions, Gauteng v Pistorius (96/2015) [2015] ZASCA 204 (3 December 2015) · court or official record
  2. SAFLII (Supreme Court of Appeal judgment), Director of Public Prosecutions, Gauteng v Pistorius (950/2016) [2017] ZASCA 158 (24 November 2017) · court or official record
  3. TimesLIVE, Oscar Pistorius bid to appeal murder sentence dismissed (9 April 2018)
  4. SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Pistorius placed on parole (24 November 2023) · court or official record
  5. CNN Wire via WTVR, Oscar Pistorius guilty of negligent killing, one gun charge (CNN Wire) (12 September 2014)
  6. SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison (21 October 2014) · court or official record
  7. CNN via ABC11, Oscar Pistorius denied parole (CNN) (31 March 2023)
  8. Sunday World, Oscar Pistorius to be monitored until expiry of his sentence (4 January 2024)
  9. Associated Press via Gulf News, South African athlete Oscar Pistorius released on parole after serving 9 years (AP) (5 January 2024)
  10. CBS News, Oscar Pistorius released on parole after serving almost 9 years (5 January 2024)

This file describes court proceedings. It does not describe or name victims beyond the court record. Our standards.