#OscarPistorius sentence increased

Share this article: Share Tweet Share Share Share Email Share

Bloemfontein - It is indeed a black Friday for Oscar Pistorius as the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein overturned his six year jail sentence and replaced it with 13 years and five months. Judge Willie Seriti said it was an unanimous judgment by all five SCA judges. Judge Seriti said Oscar should have been sentenced to the mandatory 15 years by Judge Thokozile Masipa, but they took into account that he had already served 12 months in prison previously and that he was out on seven months correctional supervision, which include house arrest Pistorius shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on Valentine's Day in 2013. He claimed he shot through the bathroom door because he thought she was an intruder.

Pistorius's initial culpable homicide conviction was changed to murder by the SCA following the State's appeal. The court found even if he thought there was an intruder in the house he should have foreseen his actions could lead to the death of whoever was behind the bathroom door.

Judge Thokozile Masipa subsequently sentenced him to six years in prison for the murder conviction.

Reeva Steenkamp's family have welcomed the increased sentence and said it showed that justice could prevail in South Africa.

"This is an emotional thing for them. They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this morning," Tania Koen, a spokeswoman for the Steenkamp family, told Reuters.

[email protected]

Pretoria News, Reuters and ANA