Pistorius sentenced to five years in prison

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Oscar Pistorius

The Paralympic champion shot his girlfriend Ms Steenkamp dead in the early hours of February 14, 2013 but has maintained since that he mistook her for an intruder in their Pretoria home.

Judge Thokozile Masipa has overseen the athlete's trial since early March and concluded the seven-month process on Tuesday, delivering her sentence at North Gauteng High Court at 10:33 local time (09:33 GMT).

According to Judge Masipa, Pistorius was guilty of "gross negligence that bordered on dolus eventualis [murder]."

Pistorius had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Ms Steenkamp's killing and remained still as the announcement was made.

After an hour of explaining her decision, Judge Masipa said: "Mr Pistorius, please rise.

"The following is what I consider to be a sentence that is fair and just both to society and to the accused: Count One - culpable homicide, the sentence imposed is a maximum imprisonment of five years, imposed in terms of section 276/1I of the Criminal Procedure Act Number 51 of 1977."

Pistorius shook hands with his uncle as he was led out of the courtroom, but spoke no words.

Ms Steenkamp's parents have attended the trial during its entirety and were similarly calm as the sentence was delivered.

A second charge Pistorius had been found guilty of, a firearms offence, saw the athlete given a three-year prison sentence, suspended for five years, to be served concurrently.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel had last week called for the 27-year-old to be jailed for at least 10 years, though defence lawyer Barry Roux argued that conditions in South African prisons were not suitable to house someone with the disabilities of a double-amputee like Pistorius.

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