BREAKING: Oscar Pistorius sentenced to six years in jail
Social media explodes as Pistorius sentence handed down
OSCAR Pistorius was today handed a sentence of six years behind bars for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Judge Thokozile Masipa delivered the sentence in the Pretoria High Court this morning.
The former Paralympian served one year in jail after being found guilty of culpable homicide but the Appeal Court overturned the finding in last year, convicting him of murder.
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Masipa’s sentencing cited case law and dealt with the minimum and maximum sentences for murder and spoke of the misconceptions created surrounding the case that led to widespread beliefs that Pistorius and Steenkamp had argued on the night of her death.
‘This court is a court of law, not of public opinion,’ she said.
Pistorius has maintained that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder.
ALSO READ: Pistorius guilty of murder
HAVE YOUR SAY, VOTE IN OUR TWITTER POLL:
Is six years for #OscarPistorius a fair sentence?
— Zululand Observer (@ZOPublications) July 6, 2016
Meanwhile, other Twitter users have reacted to the news with mixed feelings:
Life is cheap in South Africa. #OscarPistorius
— Ulrich Janse van Vuuren (@UlrichJvV) July 6, 2016
Two men convicted of robbing #SABC news crew at gunpoint during a live broadcast sentenced 15 years each in prison. #OscarPistorius 6 years.
— SITHOLEEXPRESS (@SthembisoMedia) July 6, 2016
So Judge Masipa thinks the difference between culpable homicide and murder is 1 year. Almost dissing the SCA's analysis of #OscarPistorius
— Eusebius McKaiser (@Eusebius) July 6, 2016
When you hear that #OscarPistorius has been given 6 yrs in jail for murder! pic.twitter.com/7jzN1iwN8h
— harry potter n'ensumbi z'ebyaama (@KawumaLugwana) July 6, 2016
Imagine a black man shot a white woman in the toilet. Four times. In shock. #oscarpistorius #whiteprivilege
— Neal Collins (@nealcol) July 6, 2016
