Pistorius Sentenced to 5-Year Jail Term for Killing Girlfriend

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

@Reuters: RT @LukeReuters: #OscarPistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison for shooting dead his girlfriend - @Reuters

Pistorius sentenced to five-year jail term for killing girlfriend

Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:42am EDT

PRETORIA (Reuters) - A South African court on Tuesday sentenced Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius to five years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.

(Reporting by Joe Brock; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0IA0L720141021

[alp227]

1. BBC link

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29700457

[newfie11]

2. Disgusting!!!nt

[davidpdx]

3. Picked this up off the BBC link above

A tweet:

#OscarPistorius has to serve 8 months in prison and could then be eligible to correctional supervision.This could be based on good behaviour
Nomsa Maseko 14 minutes ago

Is this justice?

[Judi Lynn]

4. Unbearable. Hope his conscience will return with a vengeance. n/t

[davidpdx]

5. I've posted this before

My first wife's brother is in prison for killing his gf while drunk driving. He'd had DUI's in the state he was from and moved to another state and racked up a bunch more before it happened and was he was driving on a suspended license at the time. I believe he got 15 years for manslaughter. I remember being in the room when he first called from jail to tell his sister. It wasn't pleasant.

[ctsnowman]

6. .

[MADem]

7. Am I the only one whose first reaction is "WHAT? That's ALL?"

Last edited Tue Oct 21, 2014, 07:24 AM - Edit history (1)

That's an insult to the woman's life.

Gee, he can do that time standing on his head, get out, run a few races, kill someone else, and do a quick turn in the pen and get out yet again.

I'd say that's a real "Justice denied" scenario. All you have to do is sob "hysterically" (quotes are there for a reason, mind you) and you get a brief, slap-on-the-wrist sentence?

Does an Olympic Medal and fame cut the sentence by three quarters, or something?

[Cryptoad]

11. Have you ever seen any Justice sys,,

deliver justice to anyone who wronged somebody who was poorer that themselves????.

[MADem]

13. Yes, actually.

That jerk who killed that kid for loud music got a life sentence and that was appropriate.

I do take your point, though--money can buy a substitute for "justice." And that substitute tastes horrible and doesn't go down well at all with the victims' families.

[erpowers]

17. No

I assume there are many in this country and around the world who are both angry and sad at this verdict. If they did not say "What? That's all" they probably said something similar.

[Blue_Tires]

31. +1

[Cryptoad]

8. People, people, people,,,

geez.... it was just his un-obedient wife.

[Enthusiast]

10. un-obedience is grounds for killing.

[MADem]

14. They weren't married. He probably would have walked if they were. nt

[Enthusiast]

9. Wow! WTF! K&R!

[LiberalElite]

12. ABC's legal expert just said "This is a huge win for Oscar Pistorius" nt

[Scairp]

37. Yeah it is

But from his side you would have thought him being in prison for one day was a death sentence due to his status as a double amputee. Also, he's going to be "mark for death" by some unknown faction within the prison. I'm sure violence is a part of every prison so you know, boo-hoo.

[davidn3600]

15. Celebrity privilege

System probably doesnt want to deal with him.

[erpowers]

16. This Whole Thing Is Sad

First, it is sad that Oscar Pistorius was not convicted of murder. Second, it is sad that he was only sentenced to 5 years and will only have to serve 10 months. I think he should have been sentenced to 15 years. However, I would not have been surprised if he had not been given any time in prison. I thought the judge was going to refuse to sentence him to prison.

[heaven05]

18. 5 years for murder???

right..... How madly disgusting. I see our justice system is not the only one in shambles.

[TBF]

19. The judge apparently considers this sentence "fair and just" -

In delivering her decision, 67-year-old Masipa stressed the difficulty of arriving at a decision that was "fair and just to society and to the accused".

She also rebuffed suggestions that Pistorius - a wealthy and influential white man - might be able to secure preferential justice despite the "equality before law" guarantee enshrined in the post-apartheid 1996 constitution.

"It would be a sad day for this country if an impression were created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and one law for the rich and famous," she said.

[KeepItReal]

23. The judge really did take both sides into consideration. For better or worse.

She (the judge) dismissed Pistorius' claim that jails could not serve the disabled. His team was trying to get him something like community service and probation only.

Unfortunately, the judge, did take into consideration the impact of jail on Pistorius and his mental state.

I don't think the judge saw any malice in the guy or any association of the shooting with the argument he had with his girlfriend.

[TBF]

25. "Both sides" - hmmm - I am not seeing justice for the

dead woman here. Silly me.

[KeepItReal]

32. I know. It is really frustrating.

American law has iterations of manslaughter for a reason.

Even if Pistorius truly thought there was an intruder (which I don't believe) he still could've been nailed for negligence, since he was not being threatened.

[roguevalley]

29. actually, with her sentence that is just what she created as impression.

[Brigid]

20. There is no justice for women. None.

[malthaussen]

21. So he walks in what, two?

I believe this is what is known as a "miscarriage of justice."

-- Mal

[TBF]

26. This is what is known as "business as usual" -

when we are dealing with white men that is.

[Purveyor]

27. One. Rest of sentence will mostly likely be 'house arrest' according to a

report I watched on France24.

[MADem]

35. Eight to ten MONTHS. Then he does his time at home.

It's egregious.

[malthaussen]

36. Proper use of a much-misused word, Madam.

"Egregious" it is indeed. Damn, if he'd been smoking a joint at the time, he'd be in for life.

-- Mal

[valerief]

22. WTF? Why only 5? Because she was a woman? Or is South Africa so uncivilized that

murder is meh?

[MADem]

38. Well, he sobbed real 'good' on the stand--boo-hoo, boo hoo!

I'd say give him an "Oscar" but he's already got one as a first name.

Plus, he's an Olympic HEEE-RO! And he has a disability!!!!! Can't ruin that image totally--he'll have to kill another girlfriend before anyone starts to discern a pattern!


Extreme and bitter of course.

[Comrade Grumpy]

24. He was found guilty of manslaughter, not murder. People get similar time for the same offense here.

In South Africa, he could have been sentenced to anything from probation to 15 years.

[ThingsGottaChange]

28. Poor little Pistorius

Now, CNN is talking about how he will fare in prison. Will it meet his needs? Will it cause problems for the prison? How can we best accommodate him? This just makes me so sick I can't even describe it. I don't care what he was "convicted" of. He murdered his girlfriend in cold blood. He knew it and we know it.

edit: spelling

[Rhinodawg]

30. And you know this for certain how?

[SoCalMusicLover]

34. Only 2 People Know For Certain

And one of them is Dead. The other is the accused.

But only a complete Idiot, or a Paid Off South African judge would buy his "intruder" story.

Obviously the "about to retire and live happily ever after" judge is the only one with a say in the matter, but in the court of public opinion, it is running about 90% against his ridiculous intruder in the toilet story. Almost everybody not a relative, finds it extremely likely that he blew away his girlfriend in an act of anger, and that it was completely intentional and deliberate.

But just like here, justice has a price. Money talks, and the accused walks.

[demigoddess]

33. they took time off for

his being so stupid as to carry a gun around his house and shoot at something he could not see. Actually they should add time for stupidity, not take it off.

[Liberal_in_LA]

39. he got off easy. he and the family know it.

[lonestarnot]

40. Richie rich has killed lady justice.

Only her idea lives.