Judge Thokozile Masipa Sends Oscar Pistorious To Six Years In Prison

Judge Thokozile Masipa has sentenced 2012 Olympics gold medalist, Oscar Pistorius to six years in prison following the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

The 29 year old blade athlete shot his girlfriend in 2013, claiming he mistook her for an intruder and acted on self defense.

Pistorious' murder verdict comes after the initial five-year sentence for manslaughter which was changed last December on appeal by Ms Steenkamp's parent.

He has though been given a chance to appeal the decision by the judge, while he's been taken immediately to jail.

The Judge also said that Pistorious has shown remorse, which outweighed aggravating factors for deviating from the prescribed 15-year sentence for murder.

Pistorius has already served one year in jail over his previous conviction.

He is legally obliged to serve half of his new sentence in prison before being eligible for parole.

The six-time Paralympic gold medallist made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012 in London, running on prosthetic "blades". BBC

* August 2012: Competes in London Olympics and Paralympics, where he won a gold medal
* February 2013: Shoots dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
* March 2014: Trial begins
* September 2014: Judge finds Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide
* October 2014: Begins five-year sentence
* October 2015: Transferred to house arrest
* December 2015: Appeal court changes verdict to murder
* July 2016: Sentenced to six years in jail for murder