Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to five years in prison for the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp.
The
Paralympic champion shot his girlfriend Ms Steenkamp dead in the early
hours of February 14, 2013 but has maintained since that he mistook her
for an intruder in their Pretoria home.
Judge Thokozile Masipa has overseen the athlete's trial since early
March and concluded the seven-month process on Tuesday, delivering her
sentence at North Gauteng High Court at 10:33 local time (09:33 GMT).
According to Judge Masipa, Pistorius was guilty of "gross negligence that bordered on dolus eventualis [murder]."
Pistorius had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Ms
Steenkamp's killing and remained still as the announcement was made.
A second charge Pistorius had been found guilty of, a firearms
offence, saw the athlete given a three-year prison sentence, suspended
for five years.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel had last week called for the 27-year-old to be
jailed for at least 10 years, though defence lawyer Barry Roux argued
that conditions in South African prisons were not suitable to house
someone with the disabilities of a double-amputee like Pistorius.
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