Pistorius Sentenced to 5-Year Jail Term for Killing Girlfriend
Source: Reuters
@Reuters: RT @LukeReuters: #OscarPistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison for shooting dead his girlfriend - @Reuters
Pistorius sentenced to five-year jail term for killing girlfriend
Tue Oct 21, 2014 4:42am EDT
PRETORIA (Reuters) - A South African court on Tuesday sentenced Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius to five years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.
(Reporting by Joe Brock; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0IA0L720141021
alp227
(32,026 posts)newfie11
(8,159 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)A tweet:
Nomsa Maseko 14 minutes ago
Is this justice?
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)My first wife's brother is in prison for killing his gf while drunk driving. He'd had DUI's in the state he was from and moved to another state and racked up a bunch more before it happened and was he was driving on a suspended license at the time. I believe he got 15 years for manslaughter. I remember being in the room when he first called from jail to tell his sister. It wasn't pleasant.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Last edited Tue Oct 21, 2014, 07:24 AM - Edit history (1)
That's an insult to the woman's life.
Gee, he can do that time standing on his head, get out, run a few races, kill someone else, and do a quick turn in the pen and get out yet again.
I'd say that's a real "Justice denied" scenario. All you have to do is sob "hysterically" (quotes are there for a reason, mind you) and you get a brief, slap-on-the-wrist sentence?
Does an Olympic Medal and fame cut the sentence by three quarters, or something?
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)deliver justice to anyone who wronged somebody who was poorer that themselves????.
MADem
(135,425 posts)That jerk who killed that kid for loud music got a life sentence and that was appropriate.
I do take your point, though--money can buy a substitute for "justice." And that substitute tastes horrible and doesn't go down well at all with the victims' families.
I assume there are many in this country and around the world who are both angry and sad at this verdict. If they did not say "What? That's all" they probably said something similar.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)geez.... it was just his un-obedient wife.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)Scairp
(2,749 posts)But from his side you would have thought him being in prison for one day was a death sentence due to his status as a double amputee. Also, he's going to be "mark for death" by some unknown faction within the prison. I'm sure violence is a part of every prison so you know, boo-hoo.
davidn3600
(6,342 posts)System probably doesnt want to deal with him.
erpowers
(9,350 posts)First, it is sad that Oscar Pistorius was not convicted of murder. Second, it is sad that he was only sentenced to 5 years and will only have to serve 10 months. I think he should have been sentenced to 15 years. However, I would not have been surprised if he had not been given any time in prison. I thought the judge was going to refuse to sentence him to prison.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)right..... How madly disgusting. I see our justice system is not the only one in shambles.
TBF
(32,062 posts)In delivering her decision, 67-year-old Masipa stressed the difficulty of arriving at a decision that was "fair and just to society and to the accused".
She also rebuffed suggestions that Pistorius - a wealthy and influential white man - might be able to secure preferential justice despite the "equality before law" guarantee enshrined in the post-apartheid 1996 constitution.
"It would be a sad day for this country if an impression were created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and one law for the rich and famous," she said.
KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)She (the judge) dismissed Pistorius' claim that jails could not serve the disabled. His team was trying to get him something like community service and probation only.
Unfortunately, the judge, did take into consideration the impact of jail on Pistorius and his mental state.
I don't think the judge saw any malice in the guy or any association of the shooting with the argument he had with his girlfriend.
TBF
(32,062 posts)dead woman here. Silly me.
KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)American law has iterations of manslaughter for a reason.
Even if Pistorius truly thought there was an intruder (which I don't believe) he still could've been nailed for negligence, since he was not being threatened.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Brigid
(17,621 posts)malthaussen
(17,200 posts)I believe this is what is known as a "miscarriage of justice."
-- Mal
TBF
(32,062 posts)when we are dealing with white men that is.
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)report I watched on France24.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's egregious.
malthaussen
(17,200 posts)"Egregious" it is indeed. Damn, if he'd been smoking a joint at the time, he'd be in for life.
-- Mal
valerief
(53,235 posts)murder is meh?
MADem
(135,425 posts)I'd say give him an "Oscar" but he's already got one as a first name.
Plus, he's an Olympic HEEE-RO! And he has a disability!!!!! Can't ruin that image totally--he'll have to kill another girlfriend before anyone starts to discern a pattern!
Extreme and bitter of course.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)In South Africa, he could have been sentenced to anything from probation to 15 years.
ThingsGottaChange
(1,200 posts)Now, CNN is talking about how he will fare in prison. Will it meet his needs? Will it cause problems for the prison? How can we best accommodate him? This just makes me so sick I can't even describe it. I don't care what he was "convicted" of. He murdered his girlfriend in cold blood. He knew it and we know it.
edit: spelling
Rhinodawg
(2,219 posts)SoCalMusicLover
(3,194 posts)And one of them is Dead. The other is the accused.
But only a complete Idiot, or a Paid Off South African judge would buy his "intruder" story.
Obviously the "about to retire and live happily ever after" judge is the only one with a say in the matter, but in the court of public opinion, it is running about 90% against his ridiculous intruder in the toilet story. Almost everybody not a relative, finds it extremely likely that he blew away his girlfriend in an act of anger, and that it was completely intentional and deliberate.
But just like here, justice has a price. Money talks, and the accused walks.
demigoddess
(6,641 posts)his being so stupid as to carry a gun around his house and shoot at something he could not see. Actually they should add time for stupidity, not take it off.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Only her idea lives.