South African appeals court will rule Thursday on whether to convict Oscar Pistorius of murder

PRETORIA, South Africa – A top South African appeals court says it will rule this week on whether to overturn a manslaughter conviction against Oscar Pistorius and find the double-amputee Olympian guilty of murder for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The registrar’s office of the Supreme Court of Appeal said in an email to journalists on Tuesday that the judgment will be announced on Thursday morning.

Pistorius, 29, was convicted of manslaughter for shooting Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was released from jail on Oct. 19 after serving one year of a 5-year sentence and is under house arrest.

If convicted of murder, Pistorius faces a 15-year jail sentence. The appeals court can also order a retrial or rule that Pistorius’ manslaughter conviction was correct.

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