/ 18 April 2016

Oscar Pistorius to be sentenced in June

Oscar Pistorius To Be Sentenced In June

Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius made a brief appearance in the Pretoria high court on Monday where sentencing proceedings were postponed to June 13.

Judge Aubrey Ledwaba has set down proceedings to run from June 13 to June 17.

State advocate Gerrie Nel placed on record that both parties would make themselves available to proceed on the public holiday, June 16, if necessary.

Last year, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned Pistorius’s culpable homicide conviction and instead convicted him of murder for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013.

The former paralympic athlete now faces a sentence of at least 15 years, in terms of prescribed minimum sentencing legislation.

He is currently serving out the remainder of his initial sentence under correctional supervision.

Pistorius was sentenced to five years behind bars on the culpable homicide conviction, and served about one year of that sentence behind bars.

The athlete was reportedly admitted to a Pretoria hospital at the weekend, but the reasons have not been revealed.

He remains under house arrest at his uncle’s Waterkloof mansion in Pretoria.

Pistorius’s bail conditions were also formally amended. If he wants to travel outside the stipulated hours of 7am to noon, he may only do so with the permission of the investigating officer.

He may not travel outside a 20km radius from the Waterkloof residence, and only with the permission of the investigating officer. The investigating officer must first inform correctional services of Pistorius’s movements and report back to the accused before he leaves the house.

Pistorius’s defence placed on record that his tracking device has been malfunctioning. The third device he has been fitted with warns him that he is violating his bail conditions when he is in fact at his residence.

Judge Ledwaba ordered correctional services officials to resolve the problem and the matter was then postponed to June 13.

Pistorius immediately made a call from his cellphone and left the courtroom.

A crowd of people had gathered in the street outside the Pretoria high court to show Pistorius their support.