Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to 6 Years for Murder

PRETORIA – Former Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was on Wednesday sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, less than the prescribed minimum of 15 years because of mitigating circumstances.

Judge Thokozile Masipa made her sentence known at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

“A long term of prison will not serve justice. He is not likely to re-offend,” she said.

While the prescribed minimum sentence for Pistorius was 15 years, Masipa said she believed this should be amended because of mitigating circumstances.

Masipa said she disagreed that Pistorius had not shown remorse for his crime, which was argued by the prosecution. She said he publicly apologised to the family, and had previously but unsccessfully tried to meet the Steenkamp family more than once.

She called him a “fallen hero” whose life would never be the same.

In December 2015, the Supreme Court upgraded Pistorius’s sentence from culpable homicide to murder.

Masipa said the case had attracted a huge amount of public attention, but that would not affect her decision. She also referred to the fact that when the shooting of Steenkamp took place, Pistorius, who is normally over 1.8 metres tall with his prosthetic legs, was only 1.5 metres and on his stumps.

She said Pistorius was a good candidate for rehabilitation, and had taken part in rehabilitation programmes.