Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend

TNN

Pretoria, Oct 21, 2014: A South African court on Tuesday sentenced Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius to five years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.

 

Pistorius’s fate lay in the hands of Judge Thokozile Masipa, who announced her decision after the prosecution called for 10 years in jail and the defence pleaded for house arrest and community service.

 

The judge last month acquitted the double amputee sprinter of the more serious charge of murder over Reeva Steenkamp’s death. But she found him guilty of culpable homicide, for which the punishment can range from a fine to jail time.

 

Pistorius claims he shot Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, four times through a locked bathroom door at his upmarket Pretoria home after he mistakenly believed she was an intruder.

 

His lawyers, arguing that Pistorius would be more vulnerable than most in prison because of his disability, called for three years of "correctional supervision", the equivalent of house arrest for the 27-year-old.