South Africa prosecutors to appeal Oscar Pistorius' verdict and sentence

JOHANNESBURG - South African prosecutors have announced they will appeal the verdict and sentence of Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee track star who was sentenced last week in the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Nathi Mncube, spokesperson for the National Prosecutors Authority, made the announcement on his Twitter feed.

Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Pistorius a five-year prison sentence last week in a decision that was widely criticized.

Steenkamp was killed in Pistorius' bathroom after he shot through a closed door several times. He has claimed he thought she was a burglar. Prosecutors say he wanted to kill her in a jealous rage.

Masipa last month convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide, but acquitted him of murder after he testified he mistook Steenkamp for a nighttime intruder.

Masipa cited the "gross negligence" the double-amputee Olympic runner showed when he shot Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home.

His lawyer, Barry Roux, said after the sentencing that Pistorius was expected to actually serve 10 months behind bars and the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. CBS News' Debora Patta says the 10-month mark is the earliest Pistorius can apply for a transfer from prison to house arrest.