A judge in South Africa says she will respond tomorrow to an appeal to change Oscar Pistorius' manslaughter charge to murder.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that the punishment to the athlete for fatally shooting his girlfriend was "shockingly inappropriate."

Lawyers say the athlete, who was sentenced to five years in October, should have been found guilty of Reeva Steenkamp's murder.

Defence counsel Barry Roux said the state had failed to show that the court had made a legal rather than factual error, so the conviction and sentence handed to Pistorius should stand.

Judge Thokozile Masipa will now decide tomorrow whether an appeal can go ahead - and if successful, he could face a much longer jail term.

Reeva's mother June will not be involved though.

The Olympian was not in court today.