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Judge Thokozile Masipa failed to put forward substantial and compelling reasons why she deviated from a minimum sentence of 15 years when she sentenced Oscar Pistorius for Reeva Steenkamp’s murder, the Supreme Court of Appeal heard today.
Prosecutor Andrea Johnson told the court that Masipa erred in her judgment and in sentencing Pistorius to six years.
“The sentence should reflect the gravity of the crime,” she said.
The state is attempting to have the six-year jail sentence lengthened.
“The court regarded Pistorius’ belief that there was an intruder in the house as a mitigating factor,” Johnson said of the previous judgment.
She said this was a misdirection.
Johnson also felt that Pistorius did not show remorse for Steenkamp’s murder.
Justice Ronnie Bosielo challenged Johnson on her submission, saying Pistorius made several attempts to contact the Steenkamp family.
“He tried to apologise. How do you verbalise remorse? What more could he have done?” asked Bosielo.
Johnson said: “He failed to take the court into his confidence and say, ‘this is why I did it’ ... There is no true, genuine, gut-wrenching remorse.”
She said while Pistorius was sorry for murdering Steenkamp, he never gave reasons as to why he did it.
“He had ample time to bring this court into his confidence and say why he did it,” she said.
Steenkamp’s family said this morning that they believed the law would run its course with the appeal.
Tanya Koen, speaking on behalf of Reeva’s emotional mother June said: “The family supports the state and the law must run its course – and what is happening this morning is part of that legal process.
“What the family is focusing on is to continue Reeva’s legacy, which is the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation.”
After giving the media a very short statement, Koen said the family had nothing else to say.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku told the media that while the state did not necessarily want the court to impose a 15 year jail sentence, “it wanted a reasonable sentence”.
“We are going to argue for the leave to appeal to be granted. We have to argue that there are prospects of success when we argue the merits of the matter. We have always argued that murder carries a minimum of 15 years… but judges have discretion to deviate when substantial circumstances exist.”
Mfaku said in this case the sentence was too lenient.
The world-renowned athlete was arrested on February 14 2013, for shooting and killing Steenkamp, who he was dating.
In 2014, North Gauteng High Court Judge Masipa found Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced him to five years in prison.
In October 2015, after spending one year in prison, Pistorius was freed and was allowed to continue serving the rest of his sentence under house arrest. Later that year, the appeals court overturned Masipa’s judgment and convicted Pistorius of murder.
Masipa later sentenced Pistorius to six years for the murder. – News24
