Judge Thokozile Masipa gave Oscar Pistorius a light sentence once. So it's entirely conceivable that she could do it again.
Pistorius' appeal of his December murder conviction that the South Africa Court of Appeals raised from his original culpable homicide conviction in the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day morning 2013 has been rejected, according to The Guardian.
Despite Upgrade To Murder Charge, Oscar Pistorius Still May Not Serve Extended Prison Sentence
"We can confirm that Oscar Pistorius' leave to appeal has been denied ... The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal because there are no prospects of success," Luvuyo Mfaku, spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority, told reporters, The Guardian reported.
That means Pistorius must go before Masipa, who presided over his original murder trial, where she will sentence him on a murder charge. The double-amputee Olympic sprinter faces a possible minimum 15-year jail sentence.
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But eNCA reporter Karyn Maughan previously told The Guardian that Masipa still would have discretion with the sentence.
"We will hear evidence about his disability and how he's not an appropriate candidate for a long incarceration, especially because his psychiatric report revealed he had suicidal tendencies, Maughan said.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door by the upstairs bedroom in his Pretoria home. He testified that he thought she was an intruder.
Masipa originally favored the culpable homicide charge on the basis that she did not believe he was aware his actions could have resulted in killing someone. The appellate court rejected her ruling, saying he should have known firing a weapon into a bathroom door in which he believed an intruder was located could have killed that intruder.
Masipa gave Pistorius a five-year sentence, the maximum under Section 276 1(i) of South Africa's Criminal Procedure Act, as stated in South Africa's Correctional Services website, in which a convicted person would have to serve only one-sixth of the sentence to become eligible to be placed on correctional supervision - house arrest, in Pistorius' case.
It is unclear whether Masipa would impose less than the 15-year sentence because of Pistorius' extraordinary circumstances.
Masipa could give Pistorius more than 15 years, but that would be inconsistent with her original sentence.
Even if she gives Pistorius the minimum 15 years, he still could end up serving just 6 ½ years, per the Correctional Services site, which states that convicted persons of determinate sentences must serve half of the sentence in prison before being considered for parole.
Under that scenario, Pistorius would face 7 ½ years but already has spent a year in prison, reducing his time remaining to 6 ½ years.
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