Judge rejects state prosecutors' right to appeal Pistorius' sentence

Reuters
Judge Thokozile Masipa looks on during the resentencing hearing of Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius ,for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, at Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 15, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Judge Thokozile Masipa on Friday rejected an application by state prosecutors to appeal Oscar Pistorius' six-year murder sentence, saying the petition had no reasonable prospects of success. Masipa had sentenced the Paralympic gold medallist in July for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, but the prosecution had said the decision was too lenient. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by James Macharia)