Paralympic athlete Pistorius sentenced to six years for Steenkamp murder

Oscar Pisorius, 29, has been sentenced to six years in prison after murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

At sentencing Judge Thokozile Masipa mentioned that several things had to be considered.

"The determination of an appropriate sentence is never easy," she said.

She said she weighed the gravity of the offence, the interest of society and the impact on the victim's family.

The former Olympic runner had faced a possible 15-year term.

Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, sat on the other side of the courtroom, which was packed with journalists and other observers.

Pistorius, who found global fame when he reached the semi-finals of the 200-metre sprint at the 2012 Olympics in London, was initially convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison. He had served one year of his sentence in jail before his conviction was changed to murder by South Africa's Supreme Court last year.

After an appeal by state prosecutors he was convicted of murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years, the Guardian reports. He has reportedly exhausted almost every legal option available to him.

Pistorius was initially acquitted of Steenkamp's murder by Masipa at a trial in 2014.

Some legel experts had predicted a more lenient sentence.

“His personal circumstances and the disability will be taken into account. One possibility is that part of the sentence may be suspended,” lawyer Ulrich Roux, who is unaffiliated with the case but who has followed it closely, told AFP.

Others reportedly suggested eight years was a likely jail term.

Under South African law, Pistorius, who has been living in his uncle’s large home in a suburb of Pretoria, would be eligible for parole long before the end of the sentence, the Guardian states.

The former athlete has always denied deliberately shooting Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, claiming that he believed a burglar was hiding in the toilet in his home.

In a televised interview last month, Pistorius said that if he “was afforded the opportunity of redemption, [he] would like to help the less fortunate”.

On the third and final day of the sentencing hearing last month, a sobbing Pistorius hobbled on his stumps across the courtroom to demonstrate his physical vulnerability as his lawyers argued he should not return to jail on account of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

A day before, Barry Steenkamp, 73, the father of the victim, tearfully called for Pistorius to “pay for his crime”.

According to the Guardian, legal experts say it is extremely unlikely that the sportsman will be able to challenge the sentence he receives, though the state may appeal if it is seen as lenient.