Oscar Pistorius sentenced to six years in prison for murder
Quote:
Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete, has been sentenced to six years in jail for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who he shot dead with four bullets fired through a closed toilet door.
In what could be the final chapter in a story that has attracted intense worldwide attention, Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered the sentence at a court hearing in Pretoria, saying there were compelling reasons not to give Pistorius a minimum 15 years for murder.
She said there was a “misperception” that Pistorius had intended to kill Steenkamp and it was the duty of the court to correct that view.
Pistorius, 29, who found global fame when he reached the semi-finals of the 200-metre sprint at the 2012 Olympics in London, was initially convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison. After an appeal by state prosecutors, he was convicted of murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years.
In explaining her sentencing, Masipa said a lesser sentence could be imposed in cases where a court felt a longer mandatory sentence would be an injustice.
She said there were “substantial and compelling circumstances” for reducing the 15-year minimum sentence and aggravating factors in the case were outweighed by mitigating circumstances, including Pistorius’s vulnerability when he was on his stumps.
She said furthermore that there was a public misperception that Pistorius had intended to kill Steenkamp.
The judge was probably bribed with lots of money for her to lower the amount of time he spends in jail. How did he not intend to kill his girlfriend? He shot MULTIPLE times through the toilet door, and I am pretty sure he knew that'd put her at great risk. Anyone normal would know that.
my man doesnt deserve this
