Oscar Pistorius avoids expected 15-year sentence for murdering Reeva Steenkamp

Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but when delivering the sentence Judge Thokozile Masipa said there was compelling reasons not to give 'The Blade Runner' that long in prison. She said it was the duty of the court to correct the misconception that Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp on St Valentine's Day 2013. The former Paralympian, who reached the semi-finals of the 200-metres at the 2012 Olympics, was previously convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to five years, having shot model Steenkamp dead through his bathroom door. However that conviction was overturned after an appeal from state prosecutors in South Africa. He was subsequently convicted of murder but only with only an additional year added on to his sentence. "Public opinion may be loud and persistent but it can play no role in the decision of this court," said Judge Masipa. "Our courts are courts of law, not courts of public opinion."