World paralympian icon Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years imprisonment for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

A second sentence of three years in jail, fully suspended for five years, was imposed on the double amputee for negligently discharging a firearm in a restaurant. Both sentences would run concurrently, Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered in the North Gauteng Court this morning.

Imposing sentence, Masipa said she had taken all factors into consideration – the seriousness of the offence, the personal circumstances of Pistorius, the interest of society, punishment and rehabilitation.

She said mercy was an important part of considering a sentence and had nothing to do with sympathy for the criminal.

“If the sentence imposed is too lenient, the public might lose faith in the justice system and take the law into their own hands while on the other side, if too harsh, the sentence might break the offender,” Masipa said in her sentence, which lasted just more than an hour.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide earlier this month for killing Steenkamp when he fired four shots through the door of a toilet cubicle in his Pretoria home on February 14 last year. He contended that he thought there was an intruder in the cubicle.

Pistorius was also convicted of contravening the Firearms Control Act.

The judge told a packed courtroom that she took several aggravating circumstances into consideration, including the fact that the athlete had known that there was someone behind the closed toilet cubicle door.

Though he did not realise it was Steenkamp, he fired four shots into the door and his aim was to shoot the intruder behind the door. He was familiar with firearms and knew the person in the cubicle could not escape.

“Therefore a sentence of correctional supervision as suggested by witnesses called by the defence was not appropriate,” she said.

Pistorius was so grossly negligent in firing the shots that it bordered on direct intent and therefore a fully suspended sentence would also not be the correct punishment.

Masipa stressed that the public should differentiate between vengeance and punishment and that mercy was an important factor when considering sentence. “Imposing a sentence is not a popularity contest,” she said.

In mitigation of sentence, the judge considered that Pistorius was a first offender, that he was remorseful, that he had been vulnerable as a result of his disability and that his conduct directly after the shooting clearly indicated that he had wanted Steenkamp to live.

“There was a feeling of unease on my part as I listened to one witness after the other emphasising Pistorius’ disability. He has excellent abilities, was a respected international athlete and even competed against able-bodied athletes,” Masipa said.

She said she had no doubt that Pistorius had made a considerable contribution to society and also changed the general public’s perception about disabled people.

“All these factors cannot be ignored but must be put in perspective,” she said.

The judge said she was satisfied that the department of corrections would be able to meet all Pistorius’ needs while incarcerated and if not, the amputee could turn to court to enforce his rights.

She declared Pistorius, an avid gun collector, unfit to own any firearm.

As the tragic news sunk in, the emotionless Pistorius immediately stood up, walked towards his family, squeezed his uncle’s hand while a police officer escorted him down the stairs to his cell.

His brother Carl shortly limped behind on his crutches, steadily walking down the stairs to where his brother went.

The Steenkamps accompanied, by the ANC Women’s League members uttered no words while numerous journalists speedily typed away to inform their readers of the historic news.

Fans of Pistorius who have been atrending the trial were seated in the back row, weeping in disbelief.

A sense of relief spread through the court as the Steenkamps were the last of the families to walk out. June Steenkamp let out a small smile of relief

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