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Pistorius sentenced to 6 years in prison for murder of Reeva Steenkamp

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Armadilo

Banned
oscar-pistorius_2481817b.jpg


Article

There's only one person who will ever know precisely what transpired in Oscar Pistorius' home in an upscale Pretoria neighborhood in the early hours of Valentine's Day three years ago.

As he arrived at a South African court to hear the verdict Wednesday, one thing seems certain: It's the last day Pistorius will be a free man for a long time.

The world's most famous Paralympic athlete is due to be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Barring an appeal, it will be the final chapter of a saga that began on that fateful February morning in 2013 -- when Pistorius fired four bullets through his bathroom door, killing Steenkamp.

- Finally.. . .
 

Indelible

Member
Seems like a pretty low prison sentence for murder but 6 years is still a good chunk of time for this asshole.
 

King_Moc

Banned
He shot into the bathroom knowing this would likely killing the person in there.

And, let's be honest, he knew it was her in there. Or did he manage to get out of bed without realising that she wasn't in there, then didn't check it was her in the bathroom first?
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
I'm trying to read about evidence but there doesn't seem to be a lot.

He didn't murder her really, he's just a moron, right?
Irrespective of whether he intended to murder Reeva Steenkamp, he still intended to kill whoever he believed to be in his bathroom. You don't get avoid punishment for murder just because you claim you killed the wrong person.
 

Cromwell

Banned
6 years is absolutely absurd. He murdered her. He had a history of abuse and anger, he knew she was in there.

Better than nothing, I guess, but the idea that he mistook her for a fucking intruder or something was always the most insane shit in the world. Dude should be spending the rest of his life in prison.
 
6 years is absolutely absurd. He murdered her. He had a history of abuse and anger, he knew she was in there.

Better than nothing, I guess, but the idea that he mistook her for a fucking intruder or something was always the most insane shit in the world. Dude should be spending the rest of his life in prison.

yeah there was evidence from neighbors they heard a screaming row late at night before the shots. He lost his temper and shot her through the door, after she took refuge there. They can't really prove that beyond reasonable doubt, but six years sounds very low, two years with good behaviour? Her family must be majorly upset with the verdict. I see on BBC news that an appeal by state is likely.
 

elseanio

Member
yeah there was evidence from neighbors they heard a screaming row late at night before the shots. He lost his temper and shot her through the door, after she took refuge there. They can't really prove that beyond reasonable doubt, but six years sounds very low its probably less with time for good behaviour. Her family must be majorly upset with the verdict.

3 years he will be eligible for parole.
 
It's amazing what you can get away with being a rich white man in this world.

That judge was a joke. She should have been nowhere near this whole thing after sentencing him to just 5 years before. She came across as some teenage fan girl.
 

SomTervo

Member
Yesssssssssss.

3 years he will be eligible for parole.

Oh well fuck that, then

I'm trying to read about evidence but there doesn't seem to be a lot.

He didn't murder her really, he's just a moron, right?

Regardless of how exactly it went down (ie whether murder or manslaughter), he took a gun and shot through a door into a small room she was in - with no logical reason to think there would be anyone in there but her. (He says he thought there was an intruder in the house but the reasoning held no water at all.)

So he took a deadly weapon and fired at a door to get to his girlfriend, who evidently locked herself in there for a reason.

He can rot in jail.
For a while.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
And, let's be honest, he knew it was her in there. Or did he manage to get out of bed without realising that she wasn't in there, then didn't check it was her in the bathroom first?

whenever i hear a strange noise in the house, I always crawl across the room and fire 20 rounds into the wall before saying 'honey do you hear something?!'
 

Cromwell

Banned
Only 15... could have been less, should have been A LOT more.

What? He's going to be out in 3 at most. It's almost impossible to get less than that for murder, the judge is a fucking disgrace.

Just another example of a rich white famous guy dodging justice.
 

Maledict

Member
There is something odd about the sentence, and the judge handing it down.

For one thing, she already messed up the original trial - hence why it was reclassified as murder, and her verdict overruled.

Why was she then put in charge of sentencing given her original trial was shown to be wrong?

It seems like, for whatever reason, she is determined to give him the benefit of the doubt and the minimum sentence possible.
 

coughlanio

Member
Seems like he's not going to appeal. Think that's a given seeing as he pretty much got the minimum sentence.

Even if he did, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
 

Theorry

Member
Think its fine really. Dont think it was on purpose and the evidence shows there wasnt a fight beforehand and things got out of hand. But still shot through a closed door. Wich is stupid and he should be go to jail for that.
 
6 years for murdering a human being? That's absurd.
In Germany that would have been 10+ years easily, up to 16 years. Murder is murder.

Not a fan of American style-"you gonna stay in prison till you die of old age" life long sentences (waste of prison space and a huge tax payer bill just for life support and IMO everyone besides the most extreme cases deserves a second chance... eventually), but this sentence is an utter joke.
 
Joke sentence. Should've been a lot more.

He'll be out in two years.

Yeah that's the worst part. It honestly makes my stomach turn that taking a life carries such a small actual sentence. It's just disgusting and an insult to both the dead person's memory and the surviving members of her family. Despicable.
 

nightmare-slain

Gold Member
eh i think it's a bit too short. he'll be out by the time he's 35. i believe if you take someones life then you give up your own. should be locked up until you die.
 

Coxy100

Banned
so that swimmer in the US got hardly anything for raping a woman behind a dumpster and now Pistorius gets this. Money talks huh.
 

Beefy

Member
It won't even be 6yrs:

Pistorius will serve 2 years of the 6 in prison. The rest under house arrest. So he will spend a grand total of 3 years behind bars for the murder of his girlfriend.
 
I always find these threads curious. What purpose would a longer sentence serve? It won't bring her back. Prison shouldn't be about punishment, it should be for rehab.

I wonder what would happen if locking someone up wasn't the only option we had... What if:

1. If we had the technology to change a person to remove the ability to perform the act that was in violation of the law. A sort of mental castration that would remove one's ability to murder, rape, steal, etc. Would you guys be OK with forcing the procedure and removing a bit of free will with no jail time attached?

2. If we had the technology to alter a criminals state of mind so that the criminals perception of time is dialated, say to a maximum sentence of say 1000 years subjective time. And let's say that was actually an hour or so in real time. Would you be OK with that sort of sentence.

3. If we created a global and benign AI and gave it the ability to surveil us all at times and intervene just before the moment we break the law of our society, would you be OK with that?

4. If we discovered a way to predict people with an 85% chance of committing a felony of any sort, but not 100% and no idea when it would happen, would you be OK with preemptively removing them from the gene pool before they can do harm. If you do not approve of killing them for something they may or may not do, let's say he has Matrix-like technology. Would you be OK with imprisoning them I'm a VR simulation without their knowledge and letting them live subjectively free, but cordoned off from the real world for their whole lives?
 

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Seems like he's not going to appeal. Think that's a given seeing as he pretty much got the minimum sentence.

Even if he did, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

He's got no legs...

Oh, you mean the sentence?

Woah, what's going on here?

Pretty low sentence for quite the clear-cut murder case. His story is so dumb it's almost comical and even if it was true, it'd hardly be a case of self-defense.
 
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