OSCAR PISTORIUS GETS FIVE YEARS IN JAIL FOR REEVA STEENKAMPs DEATH

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been given five years in jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave Pistorius a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms charge.

The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over. The defence said it expected Pistorius to serve about 10 months in prison.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of m****r.

Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defence had argued for community service and house arrest.

'Feeling of unease'

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said his client was expected to serve 10 months in prison, with the rest under house arrest.

Also reacting to the sentence, Dup De Bruyn, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, told Reuters that "justice was served".

The BBC's Nomsa Maseko, outside court, says opinion there was divided on the sentence, with some saying it was too light, others that it was fair.

She says Pistorius will be evaluated over the next few hours in prison to decide where he will be staying based on his disability.

Judge Masipa said she considered her sentence "fair and just, both to society and to the accused".

Source: BBC