Prison term for pistorius
Former Olympian sentenced to five years for killing girlfriend.
PRETORIA, South Africa • Two years ago, Oscar Pistorius climbed the steps to the podium to accept his gold medal at the London Paralympic Games. Tuesday he was escorted down the 23 steps to the cells beneath a South African court at the end of his dramatic seven-month trial.
Pistorius, who shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after mistaking her for a burglar, was sentenced to five years in prison, but could be out in 10 months.
Judge Thokozile Masipa told a red-eyed Pistorius, 27, clutching three white roses handed him by a supporter as he entered the packed courtroom, the shooting had “bordered” on murder and only jail time would be appropriate.
But she sentenced him under a South African law that allows an offender to serve a short period, then be considered for “correctional supervision” under house arrest.
The decision means Pistorius could be released to serve the rest of his sentence at his uncle’s opulent Pretoria mansion within a year.
The Pistorius and Steenkamp families broadly welcomed the decision, but Kim Martin, the victim’s cousin, protested, “Reeva’s life was worth more than that.”
Outside the court, June Steenkamp, the victim’s mother, said she was “satis- fied” with the result, although she added, “There’s no closure without Reeva unless you can magic her back.”
Ms. Steenkamp’s uncle Mike said he was confident Pistorius would have to live with what he had done.
“He is now a killer and you cannot lose that identity, it will be with him for ever.” he said. “It’s something that will never go away.”
After the judge announced her decision, the “Blade Run- ner” athlete clutched the hands of his uncle Arnold and aunt Lois and handed them his designer watch for safekeeping.
Arnold Pistorius confirmed the family would not appeal the verdict or sentence.
But he lambasted prosecutors for the “collateral damage” they had caused by trying to convict Pistorius of premeditated murder.
“One of the most distress-
Public may not know the difference between punishment and vengeance
ing parts for me of this trial is how the truth became totally irrelevant as the state attempted to make the premeditated murder charge stick,” he said.
He said his nephew would seek to make the most of his incarceration.
“Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society.
“As a family we are ready to support and guide him as he serves his sentence.”
Pis torius himself t ol d the CNN journalist Robyn Curnow days ago he was “not afraid of going to prison.”
“He said to me he hoped to contribute in prison, perhaps help inmates with literacy classes or a gym club,” she wrote on Twitter. “He seemed accepting.”
The athlete was sentenced to five years for the culpable homicide, or manslaughter, of Ms. Steenkamp, 29, and three years suspended for accidentally firing a gun in a crowded restaurant.
The state had argued he intended to kill her when he fired four shots at the locked washroom door of his home after a row.
But the judge controversially rejected that version, saying although Pistorius had been “grossly negligent” in his actions, prosecutors had not met the burden of proof for murder.
She told the courtroom she did not subscribe to the “eye for an eye” mentality.
“What may appear to be justice to the uninformed general public however may not necessarily be justice,” she said “The public may not know the difference between punishment and vengeance.”
Turning to the victim’s parents in the public gallery, she said, “Nothing I do or say today can change what happened on Feb. 14, 2013. Hopefully this shall provide some sort of closure for the family and for all concerned so that they can move on with their lives.”