OlympicTalk · Jul 6, 2016
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 6 years in prison for murder
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympian described by a judge as a “fallen hero,” was sentenced on Wednesday to six years in a South African prison for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in a ruling viewed by some as too lenient.
However, Judge Thokozile Masipa appeared to anticipate criticism of a jail term that fell far short of the normally mandated 15 years for murder under South African law, declaring: “Our courts are courts of law, not courts of public opinion.”