Reeva can now rest in peace, say family as Pistorius jail term raised
Paralympian’s six-year sentence for shooting his girlfriend more than doubled by appeal court
THE family of Reeva Steenmkamp said she would now be able to rest in peace after a South African court more than doubled the prison sentence for her killer, former athlete Oscar Pistorius.
The disgraced Paralympian, who turned 31 this week, was imprisoned last July. He was found guilty of murder after he shot Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 through a locked bathroom door, claiming he thought she was an intruder.
Pistorius, who was originally found guilty for culpable homicide, was eventually convicted for murder in 2016 but subsequently handed only six years in prison, which state prosecutors appealed. A murder conviction in South Africa carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence.
Yesterday, Justice Legoabe Willie Seriti, of the Supreme Court of Appeal, called the six-year sentence “shockingly lenient,” and increased it to 13 years and five months, taking into account the time Pistorius has already served.
In their full ruling over the decision, which took Mr Seriti just a couple of minutes to announce, the court said Pistorius “displays a lack of remorse, and does not appreciate the gravity of his actions”.
A representative for the Steenkamp family said they felt justice had finally been done. “She can now rest in peace,” said Tania Koen, a spokesman for the Steenkamps. “They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this morning.”
“But at the same time, people must realise that people think this is the end of the road for them ... the fact is they still live with Reeva’s loss every day.”
State prosecutors who appealed the six-year sentence also applauded the ruling. “We believe it is in the interest of justice and we hope the family will find closure in knowing that an appropriate sentence has been handed down,” said Luvuyo Mfaku, national prosecuting authority spokesman.
Pistorius is serving his time at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre outside the capital Pretoria, having been moved from another prison deemed less suitable for disabled inmates.
He has been admitted to the hospital twice during his imprisonment, first for wrist injuries reportedly sustained during a fall and for chest pains.
Carl Pistorius, his brother, aired his dismay over the court’s decision on Twitter on Friday. “Shattered. Heartbroken. Gutted,” he wrote.
When another Twitter user replied that Miss Steenkamp’s family probably felt the same way, Mr Pistorius hit back: “We have all suffered incomprehensible loss,” he wrote. “The death of Reeva was and still is a great loss for our family too.” Mr Seriti wrote in his decision that he found it difficult to conclude that Mr Pistorius was “genuinely remorseful.”
The judgment found “various contradictions” in why Pistorius said he shot multiple bullets through a closed bathroom door on Feb 14 2013 after he realised there was somebody inside.
It also noted that the previous court had “over-emphasised the personal circumstances of the respondent” in formulating the original six-year sentence.
In 2016, Pistorius’ defence team argued that the Paralympic sprinter, whose legs were amputated as a baby due to a rare condition, was suffering from depression and that prison time would not be constructive.
Judge Thokozile Masipa, who handed Pistorius the six-year sentence, said at the time that the punishment had to be “proportionate” and she had to look at the “peculiar” circumstances in the sensational and long-running case. “I am of the view that a long term of imprisonment would not serve justice in this case,” she said.
Once a national hero, who made history at the 2012 London Olympics by becoming the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes, the rise and fall of Pistorius and the ongoing drama over his treatment under South African law have gripped South Africans over the last four years.
Miss Steenkamp’s murder sparked a national debate about gender violence and violent crime in South Africa.
In October, Carl Pistorius threatened the family would take legal action after the release of Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer, a controversial, madefor-television film that focused on the globally-watched trial. Neither the Pistorius family or Steenkamp family said they were consulted on the making of the film.