
Prosecutors Seek Longer Pistorius Sentence
Rukhshan Mir (@rukhshanmir) Published July 21, 2016 | 03:52 PM

JOHANNESBURG,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st july,2016) : South African prosecutors said Thursday they would push for a longer sentence for Oscar Pistorius, describing his six-year jail term for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp as "shockingly too lenient". After he was sentenced earlier this month, Pistorius' lawyers said the double-amputee Olympic sprinter would not appeal against the term, which was criticised by many activists as too short. "The sentence of six years imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed (and) shockingly too lenient," the National Prosecuting Authority said in a strongly worded statement. The NPA added that the sentence was "an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute", saying that it would file papers to apply for leave to appeal on Thursday. Pistorius shot Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet. At the sentencing, High Court judge Thokozile Masipa listed several mitigating factors for giving him to less than half the minimum 15-year term for murder, including the athlete's claim he believed he was shooting an intruder.
"He cannot be at peace.
I'm of the view that a long term of imprisonment will not serve justice," Masipa said. Pistorius, 29, previously a role model for disabled people worldwide, is being held in Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria. He was released from the same jail last October after serving one year of a five-year term for culpable homicide -- the equivalent of manslaughter. But an appeals court upgraded his conviction to murder in December. At a hearing in June, Pistorius, sobbing heavily, hobbled on his stumps across the courtroom to demonstrate his physical vulnerability. His lawyers had argued he should not be returned to jail on account of an anxiety disorder and depression. Pistorius, who pleaded not guilty at his trial in 2014, has always denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he was trying to protect her. The Supreme Court of Appeal last year ruled he was guilty of murder, irrespective of who he believed was behind the door, when he opened fire with a high-calibre pistol he kept under his bed. The year before he killed Steenkamp, Pistorius became the first double-amputee to race at Olympic level when he appeared at the London 2012 games.
Related Topics
Recent Stories

Pope Francis Would Prefer Meeting With Patriarch Kirill in Russia - Union of Old ..

US Sees No Signs of Conflict in Ukraine Stopping - White House

US Treasury Secretary Says Urged Compliance With Russian Sanctions During Africa ..

US Bans Entry to Former Representatives of Serbia's National Assembly - State De ..

US Charges 3 Men in Alleged Iranian Plot to Murder Rights Activist in New York

Sania Mirza burst into tear in post-match presentation ceremony
More Stories From World
-
Pope Francis Would Prefer Meeting With Patriarch Kirill in Russia - Union of Old Believers
1 minute ago -
US Sees No Signs of Conflict in Ukraine Stopping - White House
1 minute ago -
US Treasury Secretary Says Urged Compliance With Russian Sanctions During Africa Trip
1 minute ago -
US Bans Entry to Former Representatives of Serbia's National Assembly - State Dept.
1 minute ago -
US Charges 3 Men in Alleged Iranian Plot to Murder Rights Activist in New York
1 minute ago -
Latvian Ambassador Should Leave Russia Within 2 Weeks - Russian Foreign Ministry
39 minutes ago -
US House Oversight Panel Will Probe Waste, Fraud in COVID-19 Relief Funding - Chairman
1 hour ago -
Lack of Evidence Devalues Washington's Statements About Wagner Group - Kremlin
1 hour ago -
Russian Embassy in Denmark Condemns Quran Burning in Front of Its Consular Department
1 hour ago -
Ankara Summons Danish Ambassador Over Quran Desecration in Copenhagen - Source
1 hour ago -
Russia's Rosatom Hopes to Reach Agreement With Argentina on Safe Nuclear Waste Management
1 hour ago -
Rome's Appian Way eyes UNESCO status
1 hour ago
Education - Urdu News - Car Prices - Breaking News - English News - Live Tv Channels - Urdu Horoscope - Horoscope in Urdu - Muslim Names in Urdu - Urdu Poetry - Love Poetry - Sad Poetry - Prize Bond - Mobile Prices in Pakistan - PTV Sports - English to Urdu - Big Ticket - Translate English to Urdu - Ramadan Calendar - Prayer Times - DDF Raffle - Islamic Calendar - Events - Today Islamic Date - Travel - UAE Raffles - Travel Guide - Arabic - Urdu Cooking Recipes - Directory - Pakistan Results - Past Papers - BISE - Schools in Pakistan - Academies & Tuition Centers
UrduPoint Network is the largest independent digital media house from Pakistan, catering the needs of its users since year 1997. We provide breaking news, Pakistani news, International news, Business news, Sports news, Urdu news and Live Urdu News
© 1997-2023, UrduPoint Network
All rights of the publication are reserved by UrduPoint.com. Reproduction without proper consent is not allowed.