Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to Five Year
Oscar Pistorius has been given a five year sentence for the culpable homicide (manslaughter) of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
There have been reports that the six time Paralympic gold medallist may only serve a minimum of ten months in prison, with the rest of the sentence being under house arrest.
Pistorius fatally shot his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a closed toilet door, but the athlete claimed he was shooting at an intruder in the house. The state prosecution team claimed that athlete shot Steenkamp after the couple had argued and locked herself in the toilet.
Last month Pistorius was cleared of murder as Judge Thokozile Masipa stated the prosecution had failed to prove enough evidence of premeditated murder.
The twenty-seven year old athlete was found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide this morning by the Pretoria High Court.
Judge Masipa handed the Olympic and Paralympic sprinter a five-year sentence, explaining how a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community.
Pistorius was also given a three-year suspended sentence for a separate firearms offence. His family have said the athlete will not be appealing his sentence, though the State prosecuting authority is yet to decide whether to appeal.
The International Paralympic Committee said the ruling will mean Pistorius will miss the 2016 Paralympics in Rio even if Pistorius serves a shorter sentence.
In our rules, regardless of whether Oscar Pistorius is released early or not, it is still a five-year sentence so the earliest he would be able to compete if he wanted to would be 2019.
