Oscar Pistorius sentenced to six years for murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

 The former Paralympian shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines day 2013.

The disgraced athlete could have faced a life sentence after the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned his manslaughter conviction and found him guilty of murder.

His sentence is considerably less than the minimum jail term of 15 years for murder under South African law.

The athlete has never denied shooting and killing Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate, at his home in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day morning 2013, but he has always insisted he mistook her for an intruder when he fired four Black Talon bullets through the toilet door.

He says he only realised his mistake when he broke down the door with a cricket bat, by which time it was too late – she had been hit by three bullets, one in her skull.

Judge Masipa believed Pistorius’ version of events and sentenced him to five years for culpable homicide (manslaughter).

The runner served one fifth of that term before becoming eligible to continue the remainder under house arrest.

He has spent the past nine months at his uncle Arnold’s home in an upmarket area of Pretoria, although his movements have been restricted and he has had to wear an electronic tag.

The culpable homicide conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal after a panel found Judge Masipa had misinterpreted the law.

They ruled Pistorius had committed murder and last month the two legal teams returned to the High Court to argue over the length of sentence.

Judge Thozokile Masipa told the packed courtroom today in Pretoria that she felt the mitigating circumstances in the case outweighed the aggravating factors.

She said the fact that the double amputee had tried to save Ms Steenkamp’s life following the shooting played a factor in her sentencing, as did his repeated and unsuccessful attempts to apologise to her family.

However, the judge said she gave “very little weight” to the testimony given by Dr Jonathan Scholtz, a psychiatrist who testified for the defence on Oscar Pistorius’s state of mind, as much of his evidence was “unsupported by anything concrete”.

Although the court has adjourned, the judge said Pistorius would have the opportunity to appeal the sentence.

The 29-year-old could be eligible for parole after serving three years of his jail term.

It is also possible that the prosecution will appeal on the grounds that the sentence was too lenient.