Pistorius to be sentenced on Wednesday for 2013 murder of girlfriend

In what is likely to be the final chapter in a story that attracted intense worldwide attention, Judge Thokozile Masipa will sentence the former athlete.

But he was found guilty of murder by an appeals court the following year, a crime which has a minimum sentance of 15 years in jail under South African law.

But the state says he has shown no remorse and has called for him to receive no less than the minimum sentence for murder. Reeva Steenkamp’s father, Barry Steenkamp, advocated the release of the photos — which are pixilated due to the violent nature of the images — so the world can see the damage Pistorius inflicted when he shot through a bathroom door multiple times.

He claimed he shot four times through a toilet cubicle door in fear for his life, only realizing afterward that it was Steenkamp.

He claims he acted mistakingly in the belief she was an intruder, and was originally convicted of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, in 2014.

Known as the Blade Runner because of his J-shaped prosthetic blades, Pistorius was granted bail of 10,000 rand ($900) and ordered to remain under house arrest. Masipa’s original verdict of manslaughter was overruled by the Supreme Court last year, and Masipa must now sentence the 29-year-old Pistorius again, this time for the crime of murder.

But that conviction was overturned in December and instead converted to murder by the Supreme Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein.

At a sentencing hearing last month, prosecutors asked Masipa to sentence Pistorius to at least 15 years in prison.

The athlete had the lower part of his legs amputated when he was a baby, and his lawyers have argued that his physical disability and mental stress should be considered as mitigating circumstances to reduce his sentence.

Pistorius didn’t take the witness stand at the sentencing hearing, although he shed his prosthetic legs and walked around the courtroom on his stumps.

Pistorius did not testify in mitigation, but a television interview with British journalist Mark Williams-Thomas – his first since he killed Reeva – was broadcast overseas and locally after sentencing proceedings were concluded three weeks ago. Barry Steenkamp, who wept and whose hands shook during his testimony, said Pistorius should pay for what he did.

If Pistorius is given a long prison sentence, his chances of an appeal may depend on his finances.