Oscar Pistorius asks journalist 'do you have no soul’ in text message as he is denied right to appeal murder conviction

Pistorius will be sentenced for murder on 18 April, which carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence

Oscar Pistorius

(Getty Images)

Oscar Pistorius has spoken out for the first time since he was denied leave to appeal his conviction for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, asking a journalist: "Have you no soul?"

Pistorius has served one year of his five-year sentence for manslaughter and was due to spend the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

While he was convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her four times through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day in February 2013, his sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal to murder in December.

Defence lawyer Andrew Fawcett said the court will proceeding with sentencing on 18 April. A murder conviction carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence.

Hours after the former Paralympic athlete was denied leave to appeal his conviction, his brother tweeted the single word: "Shattered".

Nine constitutional court judges, led by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, considered the application before turning it down.

Pistorius has not been seen in months, and is currently staying at his uncle's mansion on bail.

When asked by a reporter from South Africa's Times newspaper how he was feeling, he text back: "I have asked you not to call me.

"Do you have no soul to respect someone in a time like this that all you can think of is your career?"

The only remaining hope for Pistorius to minimise his time behind bars would be to make an appeal against sentence.