South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has begun serving
time in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He was driven to Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison where
he is expected to be housed in the hospital wing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Pistorius a five-year jail
sentence for culpable homicide, but cleared him of murder.
His defence said it expected him to serve about 10
months, with the remainder under house arrest. His family
say he will not appeal.
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were
happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and
the defence had argued for community service and house
arrest.
Pistorius, 27, an amputee sprinter who became the first
athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games
, killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
He says he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an
intruder in his house in Pretoria.
Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and
law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by
Pistorius through a toilet door.
Before he went down the stairs and out of court, Oscar
Pistorius slipped off his expensive watch and handed it to
a relative. It seems the athlete probably knew his sentence
beforehand, which helps explains the subdued atmosphere
in court today.
This case has revealed plenty about South Africa - its gun
culture, the strengths and inadequacies of its police and
prisons. But above all it has been a simple story, about the
rise and fall of a global icon.
As the crowds and cameras drift away from the courthouse,
what lingers is the sense of waste. Of lives and careers for
sure. But of time too.
A man and a woman went into a bathroom. Only one came
out alive. As the judge made clear - the trial should have
been over in a matter of weeks. Instead it turned into a
tortuous, overwrought epic.
Relief as justice is served
'Already accommodated'
Pistorius showed little reaction to the sentence other than
to wipe his eyes before being led away to a holding cell
downstairs.
He was then driven away from court in an armoured police
van to Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison, where he was
expected to undergo a medical assessment.
It is likely that he will be held in a one-man cell in the
hospital wing, thought to be most appropriate for the
athlete's disability.
BBC news
time in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He was driven to Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison where
he is expected to be housed in the hospital wing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Pistorius a five-year jail
sentence for culpable homicide, but cleared him of murder.
His defence said it expected him to serve about 10
months, with the remainder under house arrest. His family
say he will not appeal.
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were
happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and
the defence had argued for community service and house
arrest.
Pistorius, 27, an amputee sprinter who became the first
athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games
, killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
He says he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an
intruder in his house in Pretoria.
Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and
law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by
Pistorius through a toilet door.
Before he went down the stairs and out of court, Oscar
Pistorius slipped off his expensive watch and handed it to
a relative. It seems the athlete probably knew his sentence
beforehand, which helps explains the subdued atmosphere
in court today.
This case has revealed plenty about South Africa - its gun
culture, the strengths and inadequacies of its police and
prisons. But above all it has been a simple story, about the
rise and fall of a global icon.
As the crowds and cameras drift away from the courthouse,
what lingers is the sense of waste. Of lives and careers for
sure. But of time too.
A man and a woman went into a bathroom. Only one came
out alive. As the judge made clear - the trial should have
been over in a matter of weeks. Instead it turned into a
tortuous, overwrought epic.
Relief as justice is served
'Already accommodated'
Pistorius showed little reaction to the sentence other than
to wipe his eyes before being led away to a holding cell
downstairs.
He was then driven away from court in an armoured police
van to Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison, where he was
expected to undergo a medical assessment.
It is likely that he will be held in a one-man cell in the
hospital wing, thought to be most appropriate for the
athlete's disability.
BBC news
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