A South African judge has ruled that prosecutors can appeal against the conviction of "culpable homicide" handed to Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius.
Judge Thokozile Masipa had sentenced the 28-year-old to five years in jail in October for shooting dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home.
Pistorius claimed that he mistook Miss Steenkamp for an intruder when he killed her on Valentine's Day last year.
However, prosecutors labelled the sentence of culpable homicide - or manslaughter - as being "shockingly light", arguing that the six-time Paralympic champion should have been convicted of murder, which carries a longer sentence.
State prosecutors and Pistorius's lawyers returned to court in Pretoria yesterday to discuss the appeal, with the request to seek a murder conviction being granted this morning.
The case will now go before South Africa's Supreme Court.
Written by
Daniel Lewis
Daniel Lewis
