South Africa received’t punish Oscar Pistorius with a proverbial slap on the wrist.
The nation’s supreme courtroom introduced Friday it has greater than doubled the celebrated sprinter’s jail sentence to 13 years and 5 months, in keeping with The Related Press. Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, by a number of gunshots on Valentine’s Day in 2013 at his residence in South Africa, had been serving a six-year sentence, however the courtroom decided the punishment was “shockingly lenient” and altered his sentence following an attraction by the prosecution.
“They really feel there was justice for Reeva,” Steenkamp’s household lawyer Tania Koen advised The Related Press. “She will now relaxation in peace. However on the identical time, individuals should understand that individuals suppose that is the top of the highway for them. … The actual fact is, they nonetheless reside with Reeva’s loss daily.”
Trial choose Thokozile Masipa initially convicted Pistorius of manslaughter, however the Supreme Court docket overruled the choice in 2015 and convicted him of homicide. Masipa then sentenced him to 6 years in jail, however the Supreme Court docket has intervened once more, partly because of his lack of regret.
“The sentence of six years’ imprisonment is shockingly lenient to a degree the place it has the impact of trivializing this severe offence,” justice Willie Seriti mentioned within the courtroom’s full written ruling.
Pistorius was a a number of Paralympic champion and record-breaking sprinter who turned the primary amputee to run on the Olympics in 2012.
He had been scheduled for launch in 2019 however now received’t be eligible for parole till 2023 on the earliest.