Oscar Pistorius Sentenced To Five Years In Prison!

Oscar Pistorius was on Teusday sentenced to five years in prison for the manslaughter of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

News revealed that Pistorius is expected to be taken to Kgosi Mampuru II prison, formerly Pretoria Central. It’s believed he will stay in the holding cell below the court until around 4pm South African time (3pm BST) before being moved by police convoy, along with other prisoners, to the jail.

Judge Masipa, who sentenced the athlete to an additional three years in prison, wholly suspended, for the second count of a firearm contravention; ruled a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong sentence to the community, but a long sentence would not be appropriate because it would appear to lack mercy.

Reacting to the sentence, Oscar Pistorius defense team said the law under which he was punished calls for him to serve only one-sixth of the prison term 10 months before he can be placed on house arrest. He was equally given a suspended three-year term on separate firearms charges.

Interpreting the terms of his imprisonment, some South African legal experts said the conversion of Mr. Pistorius prison time to house arrest was not automatic and required negotiations with the correctional authorities. After serving half the sentence, he can also apply for parole. 

Some members of the Steenkamp family June and Barry Steenkamp, who spoke to reporters as they left court said they were "satisfied and happy that justice has been done".

See Video of the sentence below:

Video source: AP