SA, July 6, 2016 – South African athlete, Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six year imprisonment for murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Pistorius was initially convicted for five years for manslaughter but was charged for murder in December in the wake of public outcry.
The athletes admitted shooting Steenkamp four times through the back door thinking she was a bandit.
His lawyer has said he will not appeal. Murder charges carry up to 15 years but Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence for murder adding that she carefully considered the circumstances around Reeva Steenkamp’s death and that the sentence needed to be fair to both Pistorius and the family of the deceased.
Pistorius hugged his sister after the verdict was announced, and was taken to Khosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.
