(GIN) – Calling him ‘unremorseful’ for the murder of girlfriend in 2013, a court in South Africa more than doubled the prison sentence for Olympic star Oscar Pistorius to 13 years and five months for the deadly act.
Pistorius, who gained fame as a double-amputee runner and competed in the 2012 Olympics, fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp four times through a closed bathroom door at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
Pistorius claimed he thought Steenkamp was an intruder.
Pistorius was originally sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Thokozile Masipa who said: “A noncustodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community, but a long sentence would not be appropriate because it would lack the elements of mercy.
But her ruling was overturned as “shockingly lenient”. Judge Masipa then added additional years to the sentence – still considered low by legal observers.
Under the new sentence, the earliest Pistorius will be eligible for parole is 2023, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, an unauthorized biopic called Blade Runner Killer opened last week to mostly terrible reviews.
Based on public records, the movie focuses on the night of the shooting along with the eventual trial.
Reviews on the South Africa channel IOL.CO.ZA were decidedly negative. Mshengu Tshabalala wrote: “Woooow…the Oscar Pistorius movie is the trashiest of trash – such an irresponsible retelling of a real tragedy. And poorly made at that! Wow Lifetime wow…”
