Johannesburg - The National Prosecuting Authority has announced it will be appealing Oscar Pistorius’s six-year sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius was arrested in February 2013 for shooting Steenkamp four times through a closed door at his Pretoria East home, claiming he believed she was an intruder entering through the bathroom window.
The athlete was sentenced at the beginning of this month at the High Court in Pretoria for Steenkamp’s murder with indirect intent, with presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa believing the athlete was truly remorseful for his actions, and had already suffered significantly in the years since Steenkamp’s death.
Because of this, she deviated from the minimum 15-year sentence, instead sending him to prison for 6 years.
However, on Thursday morning, the NPA revealed that after careful consideration it had decided to file an application on Thursday for leave to appeal in terms of section 316(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
“We respectfully submit that the sentence of six years imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed... that is to say, shockingly too lenient, and has accordingly resulted in an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” NPA spokeswoman Bulelwa Makeke said in the statement.
“We hope that this appeal will also clarify further the principles of sentencing, particularly in crime categories for which there are prescribed minimum sentences ordained by legislation, notwithstanding the fact that a judicial officer has a discretion to deviate from the minimum sentence after considering compelling circumstances,” Makeke said.