D-Day for Oscar Pistorius

PRETORIA – Disgraced Paralympian Oscar Pistorius appears in court today to face sentencing for shooting dead his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

In September, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled the 27-year-old did not knowingly shoot to kill Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, and found him guilty on the lesser charge of culpable homicide. He faces up to 15 years in jail or could dodge a jail term altogether with a non-custodial sentence after being found not guilty of premeditated murder. Some lawyers believed Judge Masipa misinterpreted the definition of murder.

The sentencing starts not even a week after another judge overturned the murder convictions of another South African celebrity, hip-hop artist Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye, who killed four school children with his Mini Cooper and leaving two others with brain damage. His conviction was reduced to culpable homicide on appeal and his sentence has been reduced from 25 years in jail to eight. “The sense is we’re just too soft on crime,” said Martin Hood, a criminal lawyer based in Johannesburg. “We keep seeing that over and over again, we have magistrates and judges who have the discretion to impose harsh sentences and they simply don’t do it,” said Hood. “They are massively influenced by the costs of holding a prisoner and by the overcrowding of people in prisons.” Judge Masipa will begin proceedings by hearing defence witnesses who will testify on why Pistorius should not serve time behind bars. – Nampa-AFP