A South African judge has rejected an appeal by state prosecutors who were seeking a longer sentence for Oscar Pistorius.
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She had on July 6 sentenced Pistorius, a 29-year-old Paralympic gold medalist, to less than half of the recommended minimum 15-year jail term for murder.
Prosecutors had hoped to lengthen Pistorius’ time behind bars.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel implored the court not to see the application for leave to appeal as an insult, but said the bid should be taken seriously.
In court papers filed by the National Prosecuting Authority, the State said the sentence on a murder charge was “shocking”, “startling” and “disturbingly inappropriate” given the gravity of the crime and the interests of society.
“. We respectfully submit that the sentence of six years’ imprisonment, in all the circumstances, is disproportionate to the crime of murder committed in casu, that is to say, shockingly too lenient, and has accordingly resulted in an injustice and has the potential to bring the administration of justice into disrepute”.
Pistorius, who had the lower part of his legs amputated when he was a baby, says he fired four shots into the toilet door at his luxury Pretoria home in the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it.
However‚ the state went to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to get the conviction replaced with the of murder.
The defence team has argued in court papers that Pistorius had been imprisoned for a year and spent seven months under strict house arrest before being placed under stricter bail conditions pending his sentence.
“Another court may find that this court misdirected itself”, said Nel.
The murder case of Pistorius had been exhausted beyond the point of conceivable exhaustion.
“Enough is enough. What does the state want?” defence lawyer Barry Roux said.
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South African media reports earlier this month said that Pistorius had been put on suicide watch following mysterious wrist injuries.
