From a globally lauded athlete to convicted killer, Oscar Pistorius’ fall from grace culminated Tuesday with a five-year sentence in the shooting death of his girlfriend.
The sentence was imposed for the charge of culpable homicide, which in South Africa means a person was killed unintentionally, but unlawfully.
He was also given a three-year sentence on a firearms charge, but it was suspended for five years on condition he is not found guilty of another crime where there is negligence involving a firearm during that period.
That count related to an occasion when Pistorius discharged a loaded handgun under a table in a busy restaurant. No one was hurt.
During his trial, the double-amputee sprinter often sobbed at the mention of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp’s name. He insisted that he mistook her for an intruder when he shot her through a toilet door on Valentine’s Day 2013.
But there was very little visible reaction from Pistorius as the sentence was read.
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p class=”cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7″>Pistorius’ defense has called for a sentence of house arrest and community service.
