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Oscar Pistorius Just Had His Jail Term More Than Doubles

Photo credit: Pool / Getty
Photo credit: Pool / Getty

From Esquire UK

Oscar Pistorius's prison sentence has been more than doubled from six years to 13 years and five months for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutors at a South African court argued that the Olympic athlete's jail term of six years for murdering Steenkamp was too short.

The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled his sentence be increased to 15 years, less time already served (via BBC).

The athlete was not present for the ruling.

Pistorius has maintained that he shot his former partner Steenkamp multiple times on Valentine's Day in 2013 because he thought she was a burglar.

The lower court had justified diverging from the advised 15-year sentence by citing mitigating circumstances such as rehabilitation and remorse.

Photo credit: Gallo Images / Getty
Photo credit: Gallo Images / Getty

The court said those outweighed aggravating factors such as his failure to fire a warning shot.

Pistorius originally given a five-year term for manslaughter in 2014, but after an appeal a year later in 2015, he was guilty of murder.

He shot model Steenkamp, 29, four times through a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria.

Tania Koen, a spokesperson for the Steenkamp family said: "This is an emotional thing for them.

"They just feel that their trust in the justice system has been confirmed this morning."

Pistorius made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics at the London 2012 ceremony, running on prosthetic "blades".

The six-time Paralympic gold medallist was born with fibular hemimelia - a birth defect where part or all of the fibularbone is missing - and had his legs amputated halfway between his knees and ankles when he was 11-months-old.

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