State to Appeal Oscar Pistorius’ ‘Shockingly Lenient’ Sentence
PRETORIA – The South African government is set to appeal for a longer sentence for former Olympian Oscar Pistorius. In a strongly worded statement today, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) described the athlete’s sentence for the 2013 murder of his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as “shockingly too lenient”, “startling” and “disturbingly inappropriate”. Steenkamp’s family have […]
PRETORIA – The South African government is set to appeal for a longer sentence for former Olympian Oscar Pistorius. In a strongly worded statement today, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) described the athlete’s sentence for the 2013 murder of his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as “shockingly too lenient”, “startling” and “disturbingly inappropriate”.
Steenkamp’s family have had no input into the state’s decision to appeal, but said in a statement that they support prosecutor Gerrie Nel and his team’s fight for justice for their daughter.
Pistorius (29) was recently sentenced to six years imprisonment, by Judge Thokozile Masipa, for the Valentine’s Day murder. His lawyers have confirmed he will not appeal against the term. Pistorius is currently being held in Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru II prison.
Masipa’s sentence was criticised by many for being too short. Masipa is the same judge who had initially found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide, a conviction which was subsequently overturned in December 2015.
Masipa has explained her sentencing was based on several mitigating factors including that Pistorius alleges he thought he was shooting an intruder. The statutory minimum for murder in South Africa is reportedly 15 years.
In a statement today the NPA said the six-year sentence “is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed” and was “an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute”.
The full NPA statement reads:
“The NPA has carefully considered the sentence handed to Mr Oscar Pistorius and has decided to file an application for leave to appeal in terms of section 316(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 against the sentence imposed by Honourable Judge Masipa in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on 6 July 2016. The papers will be filed today, 21 July 2016.
“We respectfully submit that the sentence of six years imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed, in casu, that is to say, shockingly too lenient, and has accordingly resulted in an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
“We hope that this appeal will also clarify further the principles of sentencing, particularly in crime categories for which there are prescribed minimum sentences ordained by legislation, notwithstanding the fact that a judicial officer has a discretion to deviate from the minimum sentence after considering compelling circumstances.”
In a separate statement the Steenkamp family said while they support Nel and his team, they are now “focusing their energy on the upcoming official media launch of The Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation on the 19 August 2016, on what would have been Reeva’s 33rd birthday”.