A South African appeals court has more than doubled the sentence of former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius’ sentence has increased from from six years in prison to 13 years and five months.
This is not the first time Pistorius’ sentence has been altered. High court judge Thokozile Masipa initially sentenced Pistorius to five years for culpable homicide back in 2014, which was replaced with a six-year jail term for murder in 2016. Many criticised both sentences as overly lenient.
This sentence constitutes the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa – fifteen years – minus the time Pistorius has already served.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp by firing four bullets through a closed toilet door in his Pretoria home back in 2013. He claims he thought he was shooting at a burglar.
