The judge granted the former Olympian some leniency
29-year-old Olympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. She was shot through a bathroom door in 2013 as Pistorius mistook her for an intruder.
The athlete faced a minimum sentence of 15 years, but the judge thought otherwise during sentencing. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and reckless endangerment last year, but his sentence was changed to murder in December 2015.
While speaking about her judgment, Judge Thokozile Masipa said, “[Pistorius is] a fallen hero, who has lost his career, and been ruined financially. He cannot be at peace.” She felt a lengthy sentence would not serve him justice.
Pistorius was taken directly to prison while the victim’s parents watched the sentencing unfold. His attorney, Andrew Fawcett, said that he has no plans to appeal the decision. Fawcett also expects Pistorius to serve at least half of his sentence before a chance for parole.
The fallen Olympian was the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics at the London 2012 games. The sprint runner was labeled “the blade runner” by some.
Now an inmate, he admitted to authorities that he shot his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day under the misguided belief she was an intruder. He did not want to be convicted of murder and told his lawyers, “At times I don’t feel like I should have the right to live for taking someone else’s life. What’s difficult is dealing with the charge of murder. The day before we started the trial I sat with my lawyers and I said to them: ‘I will spend 10 years in jail for taking Reeva’s life, for culpable homicide, but I won’t spend a day in jail for murdering anyone.”
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