Former athlete Oscar Pistorius faced a sentence Monday in a South African court after being convicted for manslaughter of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is currently free on bail after his conviction last month.
According to the Huffington Post UK, Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty for manslaughter of his girlfriend and has appeared in court on Monday morning as sentencing begins following his conviction. Sentences for such crime as negligent killing or culpable homicide can range from a suspended sentence and a fine to as long as 15 years of imprisonment.
However, the defense called for a house arrest and community service instead of a custodial term. Based on the live blog chronicle by The Telegraph UK, correctional services officer Joel Maringa, an employee of the state who appeared as a defense witness, suggested that Pistorius would have to do two eight-hour shifts of community service per month and would be allowed to do athletic training. However, Maringa said that he should be banned from owning guns and obliged to attend programs on managing negative emotions and trauma.
But according to Daily News NY, prosecutor Gerrie Nel confronted and told Maringa that his recommendation for Pistorius' manslaughter sentence was "shockingly inappropriate" for the severity of the crime committed.
Meanwhile, Oscar Pistorius' therapist Lore Hartzenberg was also present in the court. He described Pistorius as a "broken man" who had lost everything since the incident. Hartzenberg was part of the defense's submission that Pistorius should get a lighter sentence for manslaughter and possibly even correctional management instead of prison time.
Once a celebrated athlete, Oscar Pistorius was indicted with premeditated murder in a broadcasted trial that captivated many people globally, on the other hand Judge Thokozile Masipa found him not guilty of that charge. Masipa drew disapprovals from some South Africans who thought Pistorius could at best have been sentenced of a lesser murder charge on the grounds that he discerned a person could die when he fired four bullets through a toilet door in his residence early on Valentine's Day last year.
The victim, Reeva Steenkamp was a 29-year-old model who died in the barrage of bullets and prosecutors said Pistorius had opened fire in fury after their dispute. Based on his testimony, he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder who was about to emerge from the toilet and attack him.
South African barristers differ extensively in forecasts about what kind of sentence Pistorius will get for manslaughter. Some say he is doubtful to go to prison since defense lawyers will positively argue that the athlete is a first-time offender with a disability that would place him to certain difficulty in jail, whereas others expect that Pistorius will be sentenced to some penitentiary time because of the severity of his crime.
Prosecutors firmly stated they will push for a harsh sentence for Pistorius, as he was totally negligent in shooting four times into a locked bathroom door which Steenkamp stood behind.
In line with the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius for manslaughter of Steenkamp, the defense is anticipated to call one more witness Tuesday, which is a probation officer. Then the state will also call two other witnesses.
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