Oscar Pistorius Gets 6-Year Prison Sentence In Girlfriend’s Murder

Pistorius returned to court in Pretoria on Wednesday (06Jul16), where he was sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Thokozile Masipa, who lead the original trial.

“He can not be at peace”.

“He’s a first offender”. Considering the facts of this matter, he’s not likely to re-offend.

Errol Naidoo told Premier’s News Hour: “I think it would be fair on the family of Reeva Steenkamp that Oscar get at least 12 years imprisonment”. Last month the athlete’s defense team had Pistorius remove his prostheses and hobble on his stumps in front of the judge in an attempt to show he is vulnerable. Pistorius, 29, showed little reaction as the judge read her decision.

Pistorius hugged his sister after it was announced, and was taken to Khosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.

He had initially received a five-year sentence for the manslaughter conviction in 2014.

The supreme court of appeals overturned that verdict and upgraded the charges to murder.

Pistorius, dressed in black tie, white shirt and black jacket, stared straight ahead in court during the televised proceedings, which were attended by his family and relatives of Steenkamp, a former law graduate and model.

The Steenkamp family did not criticize the sentence: “The family has said it before they wanted the law to run its course”.

Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.

The 29-year-old was then put on house arrest, but in December 2015, a higher court overturned the original ruling, stating that the culpable homicide ruling was “fundamentally flawed”, because Oscar should have known that firing shots would’ve killed whoever he thought was coming through the door. Jacqui Mofokeng, spokeswoman of the ruling ANC party’s women league, told AFP after the sentencing.

South Africa’s highest court later dismissed an appeal of that conviction, paving the way for Wednesday’s sentencing.

Ultimately, “mitigating circumstances outweigh the aggravating factors”, the judge said.”It’s not enough”, she said.

“The life of the accused will never be the same …”

The judge added: “He’s a fallen hero who has lost his career and is ruined financially”.

“He suffers from an anxiety disorder”. The murder took place only months after those games, when Pistorius shot Steenkamp (his live-in girlfriend) through the door of a bathroom in his apartment.