Judge Thokozile Masipa this morning sentenced the double amputee Olympian to five years imprisonment for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
According to BBC report, In court in Pretoria, Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge. Pistorius has now been taken to the cells.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defence argued for community service and house arrest.
123
Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said his client was expected to serve 10 months in prison, with the rest under house arrest.
The BBC’s Andrew Harding, in court, says the parents of Reeva Steenkamp, Barry and June, tell him they are happy with the sentence and relieved the case is over.
Reacting to the sentence, Dup De Bruyn, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, told Reuters that “justice was served”.
Judge Masipa had begun reading the sentence by saying that, although she had been aided by assessors, the decision was hers and hers alone.
She said: “Sentencing is about achieving the right balance. Sentencing is not a perfect exercise.”
Leave a Reply