Johannesburg: South Africa’s Supreme Court increased Oscar Pistorius’ murder sentence Friday to 13 years and five months after the state argued his original sentence of six years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was ‘shockingly lenient’.
Rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women had earlier said that Pistorius, a gold medal-winning athlete known as ‘Blade Runner’ for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.
Pistorius was jailed in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 in a case that attracted worldwide interest. He was not in court for Friday’s ruling. The court handed down the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa, and subtracted the years Pistorius had already served.
Steenkamp’s family, who were not in court for the ruling, welcomed the sentence and said it showed justice could prevail in South Africa.
“This is an emotional thing for them. They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this (Friday) morning,” Tania Koen, a family spokeswoman, told this agency.
Judge Willie Seriti, reading out the court’s decision, said: “The sentence imposed … in respect of murder is set aside and substituted with the following: the respondent is sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 13 years and five months.”
The athlete was originally convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail. That conviction was changed to murder by the Supreme Court in December 2015 and his sentence was increased to six years by trial judge Thokozile Masipa.
At a hearing earlier this month at the appeals court, state prosecutors, led by advocate Andrea Johnson, said the athlete had shown no remorse for firing four shots through a locked bathroom door that hit Steenkamp.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux had told the hearing that Pistorius did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp and the appeal should be thrown out.
Timeline to tragedy
Feb 14, 2013: Pistorius is arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
August 19, 2013: Pistorius is formally indicted for premeditated murder and his trial is scheduled for March 3, 2014.
March 3, 2014: As the trial begins, Pistorius pleads not guilty to premeditated murder.
April 7, 2014: Pistorius takes to the witness box, cross-examined for five days.
Sept 7, 2014: Judge Thokozile Masipa convicts Pistorius of culpable homicide.
Oct 21, 2014: Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison, with a possibility that he will serve eight to 10 months in jail and rest under house arrest.
Oct 19, 2015: Pistorius is released to house arrest.
Nov 3, 2015: Prosecution appeals against Masipa’s ruling in South African Supreme Court.
Dec 3, 2015: The Supreme Court overturns Masipa’s ruling and finds Pistorius guilty of murder.
July 6, 2016: Masipa in a fresh judgement, sentences Pistorius to six years in prison.
Sept 15, 2016: Prosecutors say they will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for a tougher sentence for Pistorius, having described the six-year term as “shockingly lenient”.
Nov 3, 2016: The appeal court adjourns to consider its ruling after prosecutors argue that Pistorius’s jail term is too short, while defense lawyers say the judge handed down a fair sentence.
Nov 24, 2017: Supreme Court doubles Pistorius’ sentence to 13 years and five months
Agencies
