Marco Longari / AFP / Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesFormer Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He had faced up to 15 years in prison for fatally shooting the 29-year-old model through a bathroom door of his home in February 2013.
Oscar has always maintained that Reeva's shooting was accidental, as he mistook her for a home intruder. The prosecution, however, successfully argued that it was a deliberate act following an argument. So, why was the 29-year-old double amputee given such leniency? As Judge Thokozile Masipa explained to the court in Johannesburg, "He's a fallen hero, he's lost his career and he's ruined financially. The worst is that having taken life of a fellow human being in the manner that he did he cannot be at peace. Recovery is possible, but it will depend mostly on the accused." Furthermore, the South African judge added, "It must be one of the most difficult things for any accused to have to face the victims of his crime and to apologize."
Reeva's parents wiped away tears as the sentence was read.
Oscar, meanwhile, sat stoically as Thokozile issued her ruling.
The athlete—nicknamed "Blade Runner"—can still appeal the judge's sentence.
After a highly publicized trial that stretched over seven months, Oscar was found guilty of culpable homicide in September 2014. Thokozile ruled that he had acted negligently when he shot Reeva, though it was unintentional. Oscar was sentenced to five years in prison and served a year before he was released and put on house arrest in October. However, a higher court reversed Thokozile's conviction to murder in December, which led to Wednesday's sentencing.
Oscar's older brother, Carl Pistorius, reacted to Wednesday's outcome via his Twitter account. "The record has been set straight and justice done," he tweeted. "The truth will always prevail."