Tag: athlete

Pistorius Gets Six Years Jail Term For Girlfriend’s Murder

oscarParalympics gold medalist, Oscar Pistorius, has been sentenced to six years in prison for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The South African was taken to jail immediately.

The verdict comes after his initial five-year conviction for manslaughter was changed to murder last December on appeal.

The state had called for him to receive no less than the prescribed minimum of 15-year sentence for murder.

In an hour-long session, Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence for murder.

“Public opinion may be loud and persistent, but it can play no role in the decision of this court,” High Court judge Thokozile Masipa said in her ruling.

Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.

He admitted shooting her, but said he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and acted out of fear.

Pistorius Appeals Murder Conviction

PistoriusSouth African athlete Oscar Pistorius is to seek an appeal against his conviction for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The athlete’s defence lawyer has filed an application to South Africa’s Constitutional Court, urging a review of his murder conviction.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013 after firing four times through a locked toilet door.

He claimed he mistook her for a bugler and prosecutors argued he did not plan to kill her.

The Supreme Court upgraded the 29-year-old athlete’s sentence to murder from culpable homicide, South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence.

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

Known as “Blade Runner” because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he used to race, Pistorius now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murdering his girlfriend.

Pistorius won six Paralympic gold medals and was the first double-amputee runner to compete at the Olympic Games.

Pistorius Released On Bail After Murder Conviction

Oscar PistoriusA South African court has granted bail to paralympian, Oscar Pistorius, after he was convicted of murder for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

The Judge told the court on Tuesday that Pistorius did not pose a flight risk.

“The case is postponed to the 18th of April 2016.

“Applicant is released on bail of 10,000 Rand,” the Judge said.

The Supreme Court last Thursday upgraded the 29-year-old athlete’s sentence to murder from culpable homicide, South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter, for which he had received a five-year sentence.

Known as “Blade Runner” because of the carbon fibre prosthetic blades he used to race, Pistorius now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murdering his girlfriend, Reuters reported.

The athlete’s lawyer said he would ask for leave to appeal against the murder conviction.

Steenkamp died on February 14, 2013 when Pistorius fired four shots through the toilet door.

He claimed he mistook her for a bugler and prosecutors have argued he did not plan to kill her.

Oscar Pistorius Found Guilty Of Murder

Oscar PistoriusA South African appeals court overturned an earlier manslaughter verdict on Oscar Pistorius with the paralympic star now found guilty of murder.

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the lower court did not correctly apply the rule of dolus eventualis – whether Pistorius knew that a death would be a likely result of his actions.

Pistorious killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013 after shooting four times through a locked toilet door.

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail. He will have to return to court to be re-sentenced, for murder.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but judges can apply some discretion.

In October 2014, a South African court had sentenced Oscar Pistorius to five years in jail.

The paralympic runner was convicted of culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, issuing the ruling in court in Pretoria, also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge.

The prosecution had called for a minimum 10-year sentence, while the defence called for community service and house arrest.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.

Oscar Pistorius To Know His Fate By Tuesday

PistoriusThe judge handling the killing of Reeva Steenkamp by her boyfriend and athlete, Oscar Pistorius, who is presently undergoing trial is expected to announce his sentence on Tuesday.

The five-day sentencing hearing of athlete, Oscar Pistorius, was adjourned on Friday after both defense and prosecution gave their closing statements.

The five-day sentencing hearing was adjourned on Friday after both the defence and prosecution gave their closing statements.

Mr Pistorius is awaiting the sentence for the conviction of culpable homicide, after he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.

The athlete could serve a maximum of 15 years in prison for the crime.

The prosecution has called for Mr Pistorius to be incarcerated for 10 years, while the defence has argued that the double amputee should receive a maximum sentence of three years occasional house arrest, community service, and no jail time, claiming that violent South African prisons would “break” the athlete.

Mr Pistorius is also facing sentencing for his conviction of the negligent use of a firearm, for which the maximum sentence is five years. The conviction is for Mr Pistorius’s actions a month before Miss Steenkamp’s killing, when he fired a gun into the floor of a crowded restaurant.