Pistorius Gets Six Years Jail Term For Girlfriend’s Murder

South African Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius, has being sentenced to serve six years for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was taken to jail immediately.
The verdict comes after his initial five-year conviction for manslaughter was changed to murder last December on appeal.
The state had called for him to receive no less than the prescribed minimum of 15-year sentence for murder.
In an hour-long session, Judge Thokozile Masipa said mitigating circumstances, such as rehabilitation and remorse, outweighed aggravating factors for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence for murder.
“Public opinion may be loud and persistent, but it can play no role in the decision of this court,” High Court judge Thokozile Masipa said in her ruling.
Pistorius, 29, shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door in February 2013.

He admitted shooting her, but said he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and acted out of fear.