Oscar Pistorius was sentenced on Tuesday to five years in prison for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his South African home in February 2013. The sentence concludes one of the most widely watched courtroom trials in recent history.
Pistorius, the double amputee who ran with prosthetic lower limbs and became an Olympic 400-meter runner, was convicted last month of “culpable homicide,” akin to negligent homicide or manslaughter, and could have faced a sentence as long as 15 years or no jail time at all.
As Reuters reports, Judge Thokozile Masipa pronounced in a Pretoria court that five years was "fair and just to society and to the accused." A lawyer for the Steenkamp family declared that “justice was served” and that Pistorius was given “the right sentence.” The judge had previously cleared Pistorius of premeditated murder, the most serious charge, and murder, which indicates an intention to kill but without having planned to do so.
Opinions vary on how much of his five-year term Pistorius will serve in prison. His lawyer, Barry Roux, said he expects his client to be jailed for ten months and to then serve the remainder of his time under house arrest. But a South African state prosecutor believes the convicted runner is likely to be in prison for a third of the sentence, 20 months.
Pistorius was also given a three-year suspended sentence on a separate weapons charge for discharging a gun in a crowded Johannesburg restaurant.
In her original verdict, Judge Masipa decided that Pistorius had acted unreasonably and negligently in firing four shots into a toilet door at his Pretoria home. She accepted Pistorius’ contention that he believed he was shooting at an intruder, and thus was not guilty of murder. The person behind the door was Steenkamp, who died of her wounds. Pistorius said he thought Steenkamp was in bed at the time.
Health - Injuries Washington Post reported, prosecutor Gerrie Nel had asked for ten years as “the minimum term that society will be happy with,” while defense attorney Roux asked for three years involving house arrest, occasional community service and no jail time.
Pistorius raced with carbon fiber “blades” in lieu of lower limbs, which were amputated in infancy after he was born without fibulas. He won a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal to compete against able-bodied athletes and ran in the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics.
At the 2011 World Championships, he reached the 400-meter semi-finals, and was a member of South Africa's silver medal 4 x 400-meter relay team (although he didn't race in the final). At the 2012 Olympics, he again reached the 400-meter semi-finals, then anchored South Africa's 4 x 400-meter relay team, which placed eighth in the final.
