Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Marco Longari
South Africa

Oscar Pistorius sentence increased to 13 years and five months

The ruling was made today following an appeal by the State.

OSCAR PISTORIUS HAS been sentenced to 13 years and 5 months in jail – up from an original term of six years.

He was jailed for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Today, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein more than doubled his original sentence of six years after the state appealed that it was unduly lenient.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

He had initially been released from jail to live under house arrest after serving one year of a five-year term, before being sentenced to six years in prison. This was increased today.

At the previous court hearing, the court heard that a murder conviction in South Africa usually has a minimum sentence of 15 years. However, mitigating factors – time already spent in prison, the fact that this is Pistorius’s first offence, the court’s opinion that he is unlikely to reoffend, and his genuine remorse – were taken into account by Judge Thokozile Masipa.

Contains reporting from - © AFP, 2017

Your Voice
Readers Comments
47
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel