Oscar Pistorius : 5 Years of jail

Oscar Pistorius is in news from past few days. Finally the verdict of a long trial has ended up sentencing him for imprisonment of 5 years. Before we talk further lets know a little more about Oscar Pistorius and his trials.

Who is Oscar Pistorius?

Dubbed as  ‘Blade Runner’ or  ‘the fastest man on no legs’ who once quoted “You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have.”

Oscar Pistorius is a sprint runner whose legs were amputated halfway between his knees and ankles when he was 11 months baby. He is a successful competitor at the Paralympics and also at the able-bodied athletic championships.

Why is he famous?

Pistorius  has won 6 gold medals in Paralympic Games. He also competed in the World Championships in Athletics where he became the first amputee to win an able-bodied track medal. He has a recorded his personal best running 100 m in 10.91 s, 200 m in 21.30 s and 400 m in 45.07 s.

Why was he on trial?

Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in Feb. 2013. He testified that he mistook his girlfriend for an intruder who was about to come out of the toilet and attack him.

At his earlier trial in 2014 he was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of culpable homicide (killing someone in order to protect oneself or negligent killing of someone)

Was The Verdict fair?

Initially, we heard a lot about 15 years of imprisonment to the sprinter but the verdict is out and the judge, Masipa said, “Someone was behind the door. His aim was to shoot the intruder. He was trained in the use of firearms, which imposed a high degree of responsibility. The toilet was a small cubicle. An intruder would have had no room to maneuver or escape. The degree of negligence is inappropriate.”

No one can replace the loss of Reeva Steenkamp to her family. If the death was caused because of negligence then this negligence is beyond correction.

What do you think? Was the verdict fair?A lot are unhappy with the decision of 5 years of jail and a lot signed a breath of relief saying “He at least got a punishment for what he did” and a few others say “It was an unintended killing, he shouldn’t go to jail!” What do you think?

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