ConCourt denies Pistorius leave to appeal
The Constitutional Court has denied Oscar Pistorius leave to appeal his murder conviction.
The decision means the Paralympic athlete will be re-sentenced on a charge of murder on 18 April.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein overturned Pistorius' culpable homicide conviction, and replaced it with murder last year.
The Paralympian fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day in 2013.
The NPA welcomed the decision, saying it is ready to proceed with sentencing.
NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said: "We received an order from the registrar of the Constitutional Court to the effect that the leave to appeal has been refused due to a lack of prospects of success."
BDK Attorneys' Ulrich Roux said there was always a “very slim chance” of Pistorius successfully appealing to the ConCourt.
“Pistorius faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in jail. One could expect him to rely on his disability and the fact that he’s already served jail time to convince the court to deviate from that minimum sentence,” Roux said.
Edited by: Marius van der Walt