Oscar Pistorius has had his sentence increased from six years to 13 years and five months for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
FILE PHOTO: Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius appears for sentencing for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp at the Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Ludbrook/Pool/File Photo – RC1A00D19B60
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal increased the sentence after the state argued that his original term of six years was “shockingly lenient”.
The athlete was not in court for the ruling.
The court handed down the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa, subtracting the year Pistorius has already served.
Tania Koen, a spokeswoman for the Steenkamp family, said: “This is an emotional thing for them.
“They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this morning.”
Pistorius was jailed in July 2016 after being found guilty on appeal of murdering Ms Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The runner claimed he mistook 29-year-old Ms Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four bullets through the bathroom door in the early hours of 14 February 2013.
Judge Thokozile Masipa initially ruled the state failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder, but may still be guilty of culpable homicide – equivalent to the UK law of manslaughter.
He was sentenced to five years for culpable homicide, and was eventually released from prison and placed under house arrest.
His conviction was then overturned in favour of murder following an appeal, and he was sentenced to six years.
In July 2016, South Africa’s National Prosecuting Agency deemed the murder sentence “shockingly too lenient”, announcing plans to appeal for a longer sentence.
South African legal commentator Llewellyn Curlewis told Sky News this will “probably be the final verdict” and says there is unlikely to be a further appeal.
“From a lawyer’s perspective… this is the correct interpretation of the law,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, this was the correct outcome at long last.”
By Ceren Senku
Source: SKY NEWS
