Olympic and Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius today was sentenced in Pretoria to a maximum of five years in jail in connection with the 2013 shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, although he could serve less than a year behind bars.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said before handing down the sentence that she hoped the result would provide some closure to the Steenkamp family.
She said a sentence not involving confinement, after Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, would send a wrong message to the public, and that a long jail sentence would lack an "element of mercy."
After the sentence was announced, Pistorius was taken from the courtroom at Pretoria's North Gauteng High Court to its holding cells. He later left the building in a police armoured vehicle. His sentence begins immediately and he is expected to serve it in the hospital wing of Pretoria Central prison.
"Justice was served today," said Dup De Bruyn, the lawyer for the Steenkamp family.
"We accept the judgment," said Arnold Pistorius, Oscar's uncle.
"Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society," Arnold Pistorius told journalists after the sentencing.
Barry Roux, a defence lawyer for Pistorius, said he expected the athlete will serve 10 months behind bars with the remainder under house arrest.
However, the South African state prosecuting authority expects Pistorius to serve at least one-third of his sentence, or 20 months. Spokesman Nathi Mncube said the authority is disappointed with Pistorius's culpable homicide conviction, but has not decided whether to appeal. Prosecutors have 14 days to decide whether to challenge the conviction.
Pistorius, 27, was also given a three-year suspended sentence for a separate gun-related incident.
Masipa had a range of options after convicting him on Sept. 11, including jail, a suspended sentence and house arrest. Pistorius was found not guilty of murder and not guilty of premeditated murder.
Before the shooting, Pistorius was seen as an athletic superstar and an inspiration after becoming the first Paralympian to compete in athletics at the Olympics, in 2012. He previously won six gold medals and eight medals overall at the Paralympics dating back to 2004.
The International Paralympic Committee said Tuesday that Pistorius will be barred from competition during his full five-year sentence, even if he does not serve all that time in prison. That ruling would keep him out of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.
Pistorius was born with a congenital condition that resulted in both legs being amputated under the knees when he was about a year old.
Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law school graduate and model, was fatally shot through a bathroom door on Feb. 14, 2013.
Pistorius, who fired four times, said he awoke in the middle of the night and believed an intruder was in his bathroom.
Pistorius's lawyers argued for a three-year period of correctional supervision, where the runner would spend periods under house arrest and also perform community service.
Prosecutors asked the judge to send him to prison for at least 10 years, citing the "horrific" nature of Steenkamp's death after she was shot multiple times.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in jail for girlfriend's death
Dengan url
http://sportiflover.blogspot.com/2014/10/oscar-pistorius-sentenced-to-5-years-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in jail for girlfriend's death
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in jail for girlfriend's death
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar