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Oscar Pistorius Deservedly Sentenced 5 Years In Prison

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By @MichaelTerrill

Oscar Pistorius

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The possibility of Paralympic gold medalist and Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius walking free after killing his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was so great that it had people genuinely concerned. However, the Steenkamp family and others do not have to worry anymore as Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for being found guilty of culpable homicide.

Pistorius reportedly cried quietly as he learned his fate in the South African court Tuesday morning. A big reason for his stream of tears was because he actually believed a majority of his sentence was to be served under house arrest. Instead, Judge Thokozile Masipa, who had the duty to of sentencing Pistorius based on her decision alone, decided against a lenient punishment. This comes as somewhat of a surprise considering Masipa stated she would realistically consider letting him walk free on bail. There is still a chance Pistorius will get house arrest, but that can only happen once he applies for a transfer after serving 10 months in prison.

Defense attorney Barry Roux was hopeful that his client would be let go due to him suffering enough in the last 18 months during his trial. He also believed Pistorius should not go to jail based on the reasoning that his client accidentally killed Steenkamp and would never actually harm her on purpose. Of course, this theory is incredibly hard to grasp, even if Masipa ruled culpable homicide instead of first-degree murder.

Pistorius claimed that he believed Steenkamp was in another room when he shot what he thought to be an intruder in his bathroom. The reason the prosecutors do not buy it is because Pistorius shot through the door before checking the rest of the house to see where Steenkamp was. He essentially thought it best to shoot through the door and ask questions later. For that reason, it is quite obvious there was intent to kill her.

Believe it or not, Pistorius’ punishment is still considered somewhat lenient. Technically, he could have been sentenced up to 15 years in prison. Instead, Masipa attempted to find a middle-of-the-road punishment for the main reason that she is convinced Pistorius wanted Steenkamp to live. Also, he being a first offender certainly played a role in her decision. With that said, the evidence does show a strong chance of intent, which is why she still gave him the five years.

Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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