Six-time Paralympic champion, Oscar Pistorius, will be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on July 6, a judge has ruled in South Africa.
The 29-year-old could face a 15-year jail term for shooting dead Steenkamp through a toilet door at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Pistorius was initially handed a five-year sentence after being found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter), but after serving almost one year behind bars, the double amputee’s conviction was upgraded to murder on appeal.
On day three of the sentencing hearing, Pistorius sobbed as he removed his prosthetic legs to demonstrate his limited movement as part of the defence’s argument.
The Paralympian’s lawyer Barry Roux told the court that “there is no purpose served” in sending his client back to prison, while prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius should serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars because he has still not provided an “acceptable explanation” for his actions.
Pistorius has maintained that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four gunshots through the toilet door in his bathroom.
Pistorius gets date for sentencing
By NAN
