Double amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide after being found not guilty of murder and will serve the five-year sentence immediately. Judge Thokozile Masipa spoke about her decision and said that the ‘Blade Runner’ showed "gross negligence” with the handling of the situation and that the sentence reflects both justice and mercy.
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"I am of the view that a noncustodial sentence would send a wrong message to the community," Masipa said. ”On the other hand, a long sentence would not be appropriate, either, as it would lack the element of mercy.”
Pistorius will likely not be in prison long, however, as many legal experts have cited that the 27-year-old is eligible for parole and house arrest after 10 months of the sentence. Pistorius faced 15 years in jail, but after this ruling will likely only see the inside of a jail cell for less than a year.
Pistorius’ case was that he shot and killed Steenkamp after he mistook her for a burglar in the couples' bathroom. The prosecution maintained that the couple had argued for some time before the shooting and the events of that night were Pistorius’ rage finally boiling over.
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Both the defense and prosecution have 14 days to submit an appeal of the sentence. The trial has been ongoing for 20 months and has finally come to a close that many are calling the judges’ decision "a remarkable job at balancing all of the competing interests.”
[ESPN]
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