PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 15: Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court for lunch after removing his removing prosthetic legs earlier by his defense counsel Barry Roux on June 15, 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa. Having had his conviction upgraded to murder in December 2015, Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius is attending his sentencing hearing and will be returned to jail for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on February 14th 2013. The hearing is expected to last five days. (Photo by Charlie Shoemaker/Getty Images)
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 6 years in prison
02:20 - Source: CNN

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Judge Thokozile Masipa rejected request by prosecution to appeal Oscar Pistorius' six-year sentence

Prosecutors thought former athlete's sentence was too lenient

Johannesburg CNN  — 

A South African judge on Friday rejected a request by prosecutors seeking to appeal Oscar Pistorius’ six-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Pistorius’ sentence for the crime was “shockingly lenient” and that the state should be granted the opportunity to appeal for a stiffer sentence. Meanwhile, defense lawyer Barry Roux argued that the legal process had been thoroughly exhausted and the prosecution’s leave to appeal should be dismissed.

Judge Thokozile Masipa rejected the request in Johannesburg.

Pistorius, a former Olympic and Paralympic sprinter, killed Reeva Steenkamp at his home in an upscale Pretoria neighborhood in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013 – an act he says was an accident, after he mistook her for an intruder. The prosecution called it a deliberate act after the two had an argument.

Oscar Pistorius, as he leaves the High Court in Pretoria on July 6.

Pistorius originally was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 after months of hearings, but a higher court changed that to murder last year, leading to the latest sentencing.

Masipa surprised many when she sentenced Pistorius to six years earlier this year. The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, but individual judges are given leeway if there are “substantial and compelling” reasons to do so.

Masipa cited mitigating circumstances for the lesser punishment, saying Pistorius is genuinely remorseful and a good candidate for rehabilitation. She had described him as a “fallen hero” who will never be at peace.