The justice system is not finished with Oscar Pistorius, and is determined to hand him an even longer jail sentence.
The National Prosecution Authority has announced it will be appealing Pistorius’ “shockingly lenient” six-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The disgraced athlete was arrested in February 2013 for shooting Reeva four times through a closed door at his Pretoria East home.
He claimed that he thought she was an intruder entering through the bathroom window.
The athlete was sentenced at the beginning of this month at the High Court in Pretoria for murder with indirect intent.
Presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa says she believed the Blade Runner was truly remorseful for his actions, and had already suffered significantly in the years since the model’s death.
Because of this “compelling circumstances”, she deviated from the minimum 15-year sentence, instead sending him to prison for six years.
However, yesterday morning, the NPA revealed that after careful consideration, it had decided to file an application for leave to appeal in terms of section 316(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
“We respectfully submit that the sentence of six years imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed... that is to say, shockingly too lenient, and has accordingly resulted in an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” NPA spokeswoman Bulelwa Makeke said in the statement.
“We hope that this appeal will also clarify further the principles of sentencing, particularly in crime categories for which there are prescribed minimum sentences ordained by legislation, notwithstanding the fact that a judicial officer has a discretion to deviate from the minimum sentence after considering compelling circumstances,” Makeke said.