Oscar Pistorius' bid to reduce jail term for murdering Reeva Steenkamp is rejected

Oscar Pistorius's bid to have his murder sentence reduced has been rejected
Marco Longari/Reuters

Oscar Pistorius’s bid to appeal against his 15-year jail term for killing his girlfriend has been rejected by South Africa’s highest court, bring the long legal battle to an end.

The former Paralympic athlete, 31, had asked the Constitutional Court to review the sentence which was increased from six to 15 years in November last year.

But a court ruling released on Monday reveals that the application against the decision was dismissed.

Pistorius shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013.

The paralympian, who had the lower part of his legs amputated when he was a baby, had claimed he fired four shots into the toilet door at his luxury Pretoria home in the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it.

The court order released this week, which was dated March 28, read: "The Constitutional Court has considered the application for condonation and leave to appeal. It has concluded that ... the application for leave to appeal should be dismissed as it does not engage this court's jurisdiction."

The NPA said it was pleased with the order. "We have always contended as the NPA that their leave to appeal has no prospects of success, and the Constitutional Court has just confirmed that," NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku said.

Additional reporting from Reuters.

Oscar Pistorius Trial - In pictures

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