On the second day of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) October meeting South Africa has finally passed sentence
on Oscar Pistorius after a week of delays. For the offence on Culpable
Homicide in relation to the death of Reeva Steenkamp Pistorius has been
sentenced to five years in prison.
Under South African law one of the big test cases for the charge of
Culpable Homicide is State v Van As (1979). Here the defendant slapped a
man in the face during an argument. That man fell to the floor, banged
his head and subsequently died. The defendant was sentenced to a fine of
R50 (USD1.8) and one month in prison.
In State v Dube (1999) the defendant crashed a bus he was driving in
Lydenburg killing 28 people including 27 British tourists. He was
sentenced to 6 years in prison.
In Sate v Ndlovu (2011) the defendant crashed a bus he was driving in
Limpopo killing 14 people. He was fined R20,000 (USD1800) and served no
jail time.
As such it is impossible to view Oscar Pistorius' sentence of 5 years
imprisonment as anything other then grossly and maliciously excessive.
Therefore I expect the next chapter in this saga will be Pistorius
appealing that sentence treating us all to another round of Court room
drama. Then once Pistorius' sentence has been reduced to time served the
State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel - who still seems to believe that Pistorius
was convicted of murder - will face a misconduct hearing in order to
promote discussion about political interference within the South African
legal system.
With President Zuma and his spy tapes that's something of a very hot issue in South Africa at the moment.
(Originally Posted) 15:30 on 21/10/14 (UK date).
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