Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years for culpable homicide

By Hassan Isilow

PRETORIA

South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius on Tuesday was sentenced to five years in jail for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his Pretoria home last year.

"I have considered all the evidence before. The following is what I consider to be a sentence that is fair and just, both to society and the accused," Judge Thokozile Masipa told a packed courtroom in Pretoria.

She sentenced the double-amputee athlete to five years in jail on one count of culpable homicide.

For violating the country's Firearms Control Act, meanwhile, Masipa slapped him with "three years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that, within that period of suspension, the accused is not found guilty of a crime where there is negligence involving… a firearm."

"The sentence in count one and sentence in count two shall run concurrently," she asserted.

The 27-year-old Paralympian was accused of murdering Steenkamp at his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day (February 14) of last year.

Pistorius fired four shots at the closed door of his bathroom, instantly killing Steenkamp, who he allegedly mistook for an intruder.

Pistorius looked calm and composed as he listened to the verdict, unlike during previous court sessions when he had frequently broken down in tears.

Last month, he was found guilty of culpable homicide and careless use of a firearm, which he had discharged earlier in a popular Johannesburg restaurant.  

Masipa thanked both counsels and all court officials who had assisted her in the case.

"It was not an easy matter," she said.

After Masipa finished reading out the verdict, the court was adjourned. Security personnel led Pistorius to a holding cell, from where he was later transferred to a prison located a few kilometers from the courthouse.

The high-profile case, which has been ongoing for six months, heard testimony from over 40 witnesses and experts.

Some observers had suggested that Pistorius be given three years of house arrest and community service, while the state had called for a maximum sentence of ten years behind bars.

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