Paralympian Oscar Pistorius jail term increased to 13 years
Friday November 24 2017
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has extended the prison sentence of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius to 13 years and five months for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius had been handed a six-year jail term after he was found guilty of murder on appeal last year. He had previously been sentenced to five years for manslaughter.
"The sentence imposed by the High Court with respect to murder is set aside and substituted with the following – the respondent’s imprisonment for 13 years and five months," Justice Legoabe Willie Seriti ruled.
The judge said Pistorius should have been sent to prison for 15 years – the minimum sentence for murder, but the court took into account the time he had already served.
The High Court judge Thokozile Masipa had settled for a six-year sentence citing extenuating circumstances.
The state prosecutors argued the ruling was “far too lenient” and appealed.
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Pistorius was arrested on Valentine’s Day in 2013 after shooting dead his model girlfriend.
He admitted to firing four shots through a bathroom door, but claimed that he believed there was an intruder inside.