Murdered Reeva Steenkamp’s family hail re-sentencing of killer Oscar Pistorius after judges DOUBLE jail time to 13 years
THE family of murdered model Reeva Steenkamp have welcomed the doubling of Oscar Pistorius's sentence to 13 years as showing how justice could prevail.
Pistorius was caged in July last year after being found guilty on appeal of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013 in a case that attracted worldwide interest.
But the state had argued at the South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal that his original sentence of six years was "shockingly lenient".
The athlete was not in court for today's ruling where the court handed down the minimum 15-year sentence prescribed for murder in South Africa, and subtracted the years Pistorius had already served in jail.
The family of murdered model Reeva Steenkamp welcomed the increased sentence and said it showed that justice could prevail in South Africa.
Tania Koen, a spokeswoman for the Steenkamp family, said: "This is an emotional thing for them.
“They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this morning."
Reading out the court’s decision, the judge said: "The sentence imposed... in respect of murder is set aside and substituted with the following: the respondent is sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 13 years and five months.”
Pistorius killed Steenkamp in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine's Day 2013 after shooting four times through a closed toilet cubicle door in his home. Claiming he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder, he was initially convicted of manslaughter.
That conviction was overturned and replaced with a murder conviction by the Supreme Court in 2015
Then in July last year his sentence was increased to six years by trial judge Thokozile Masipa.
But prosecutors appealed the sentence, arguing earlier this month that Pistorius failed to show genuine remorse after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
"One of the essential ingredients of a balanced sentence is that it must reflect the seriousness of the offence," Andrea Johnson, of the National Prosecution Authority, told the court.
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Rights groups in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women say Pistorius received preferential treatment compared to non-whites and those without his wealth or international celebrity status.
His lawyers have just one avenue open to them if they want to challenge the new sentence handed down by the Supreme Court, and that is to appeal to the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa.
But Pistorius failed with an appeal to the Constitutional Court last year to challenge his murder conviction.
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