A South African judge has granted bail to athlete Oscar Pistorius, after an appeals court last week convicted him of murder.
The double-leg amputee and Olympic sprinter will remain under house arrest while awaiting a new sentence. He was convicted of murder for shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013.
The appeals court overturned a manslaughter ruling against Pistorius last Thursday. The new murder charge carries a minimum 15 years in prison.
Oscar Pistorius, center, leaves a courtroom of the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 8, 2015. Judge Aubrey Ledwaba granted Pistorius bail and extended his house arrest for the murder conviction of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Paralympic track and field star plans to take the case to South Africa’s Constitutional Court for review, according to his lawyer. The constitutional court is the highest court in South Africa.
This past October, Pistorius was released from prison. He served less than one year of the five-year term behind bars. He was to serve the rest of the culpable murder sentence under house arrest.
Pistorius will again appear in court April 18 to go over the next steps in the legal process.
The Olympian is not considered a flight risk. He will be issued an electronic monitoring device.
I'm Mario Ritter.
The staff of VOA News wrote this story. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.
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Words in This Story
bail – n. an amount of money given to a court to allow a prisoner to leave jail and return later for a trial
conviction – n. the act of proving that a person is guilty of a crime in a court of law
Paralympic -- n. an athlete with a physical condition who participates in sports competition with similar persons
amputee – n. a person who has had an arm or leg amputated
sprinter – n. a person who runs or goes very fast for a short distance
manslaughter – n. the crime of killing a person without intending to do so
culpable – adj. guilty of doing something wrong