CAPE TOWN, South Africa—South African prosecutors announced their intention to appeal against Oscar Pistorius’ six-year jail sentence for murder on Thursday, calling it “shockingly” lenient and a decision that could bring the country’s justice system into “disrepute.”
The announcement prolongs the three-and-a-half year legal saga of Pistorius, the once-acclaimed double-amputee runner who fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in 2013.
The National Prosecuting Authority said it would file its appeal papers on Thursday—the day of the deadline to appeal.
Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison by a judge on July 6, a sentence that is much shorter than the prescribed minimum of 15 years in jail for murder in South Africa. He could be released on parole after three years.
“We respectfully submit that the sentence of six years imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed,” the prosecuting authority said in a statement announcing it would appeal.
The sentence was “shockingly too lenient, and has accordingly resulted in an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” the prosecuting authority said.
