Oscar Pistorius…a sad story…

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, born on November 22, 1986 is a South African sprint runner and convicted murderer. Both of Pistorius’ legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. He was the tenth athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games, competing in sprint events for below-knee amputees in Paralympic events, and in non-disabled sprint events.

After becoming a Paralympic champion, Pistorius attempted to enter non-disabled international competition, over persistent objections of the IAAF and charges that his artificial limbs gave an unfair advantage. Pistorius eventually prevailed in this legal dispute. At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win a non-disabled world track medal. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Pistorius became the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.

On Valentine’s Day in 2013, Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home. He claimed he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder hiding in the bathroom, but he was arrested and charged with murder. At his trial the following year, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide. He received a five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide and a concurrent three-year suspended prison sentence for a separate reckless endangerment conviction.

In November 2014, prosecutors asked the sentencing judge for permission to appeal the verdict. Permission was granted in December, and the case was presented to a five-person panel at the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was released on house arrest, and on 3 December 2015 the Appeal Court overturned the culpable homicide verdict and convicted him of murder. Pistorius appeared in court on 13 June 2016 to start the sentence hearing for the murder conviction which concluded on 15 June 2016 after Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned the sentencing until 6 July 2016 when she extended Pistorius’ sentence to six years imprisonment for murder.