South African double amputee Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, will serve jail time over the negligent killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius to five years jail over the killing after convicting him of culpable homicide – negligent killing without intent to murder – in September. She acquitted him of murder last month.
She also sentenced him to three years, wholly suspended, for the negligent use of a firearm.
Judge Thokozile Masipa sentenced Pistorius after having convicted him of culpable homicide – negligent killing without intent to murder – in September. She acquitted him of murder.
Masipa's finding came after the prosecution called for the maximum possible term of 15 years; the defense had called for the athlete to be spared time in prison.
During the trial, Pistorius at times wept and at other times retched and vomited as graphic images of Steenkamp's body were shown in court.
The double-amputee athlete, who had extensive weapons training, killed Steenkamp when he fired four expanding bullets, designed to inflict maximum tissue damage, through the door of an enclosed toilet in his home last year. He said he mistook her for an intruder or intruders after hearing a noise in the bathroom, a story accepted by Masipa as reasonable.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution portrayed Pistorius as reckless, arrogant and selfish, incapable of taking responsibility for the killing. The defense contended he was vulnerable, anxious and afraid when he killed Steenkamp.
The trial divided South Africans and was hotly debated on social media between those convinced Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp because of a quarrel and those convinced of his innocence.
Dismissing the testimony of neighbors who said they thought they heard a woman scream, and one who believed she heard an argument, Masipa said in her September verdict that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Other neighbors testified that they thought the screaming heard on the night of the shooting was that of a man.
Masipa also rejected the prosecution's contention that Pistorius must have known that his actions would kill and that he therefore should be convicted of murder.
In her verdict, the judge found that Pistorius was a poor witness but that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill Steenkamp. She found Pistorius acted hastily and negligently when he fired.
Steenkamp's mother, June Steenkamp, expressed grim dismay over the acquittal and said she didn't believe justice had been done.
Masipa's acquittal of Pistorius for murder was controversial, with some legal analysts suggesting the state had grounds for appeal. But her decision to sentence Pistorius to prison time may mollify critics to some extent.
Pistorius used carbon-fiber legs to compete as a runner in the London Olympics in 2012.
Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT
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