Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius’s jail sentence has been more than doubled by a South African court for killing his girlfriend.
The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Friday gave him the minimum 15 years prescribed for murder in South Africa after prosecutors argued that the six-year term for murdering Reeva Steenkamp was “shockingly light”.
The lower court had said his initial six-year sentence was due to mitigating circumstances such as rehabilitation and remorse.
Pistorius- who was not in court to hear the ruling- has served less time already making it 13 years and five months left of his new sentence.
A spokesman for Steenkamp’s family said the ruling “verified there was justice”.
Pistorius shot dead Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door at his home in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day in 2013 after mistaking her for a burglar.
He was initially given a five-year term for manslaughter in 2014 but was found guilty of murder on appeal in 2015.
A film about the athlete titled ‘Oscar Pistorius: Blade Runner Killer’ sparked outrage from the Pistorius family when it aired in South Africa over the weekend.
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