But now the State has officially acknowledged that they appeal the judgment and sentence in the Pistorius case, the National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed after consulting several legal experts during the past week. In a short statement the NPA has said: “Since the 20th of October 2014 the prosecution team, advocate Gerrie Nel and advocate Andrea Johnson, have been hard at work studying the judgment, researching, and also consulting with legal experts with the view to establish whether or not there are sufficient grounds to appeal both the judgment and sentence. Today we announce that the decision to appeal both the conviction and sentence has been taken.”
Judge Masipa’s original ruling was met with angry reactions, also on social media, with hashtags such as #NoJustice and #ThingsLongerThanPistoriusSentencing. Oscar’s brother Carl Pistorius and US millionaire Donald Trump have even exchanged heated comments on Twitter over the sentencing of Oscar, who fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp claiming he thought she was a burglar in his toilet. Trump describing Masipa’s decision as “ridiculous”, before sharing another tweet calling her a “moron”.
Pistorius was cleared of murder, but found guilty of culpable homicide.