With regards to the recent news of Oscar Pistorius conviction of five years for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, it is utterly shocking to notice the reduced sentence that he was given for taking someone’s life. A mere five years in prison and a possibility to be released after ten months in jail to serve the remainder under house arrest, is completely unfair.
South African judge Thokozile Masipa reasoned that her decision was considered to be “fair and just both to society and the accused,” but what message does this “fair” sentence send out to fellow offenders - that they can take something as valuable as a human being’s life and in return, pay a cheap price of five years?
On one hand, Nathi Mncube, the prosecution spokesman argued that the sentence would satisfy the public because serves as a proof that the justice system is functional, and on another, Masipa argued that “a long sentence would not be appropriate as it would lack the element of mercy”. But aren’t all offenders supposed to be equal before the law?
The judge agreed that Pistorius killing of his girlfriend was a clear sign of ‘gross negligence,’ but so was she by giving such a lenient sentence to someone who shot a fellow being not only once, but multiple times through a toilet cubicle door.
With the international prominence given to this case, we have all been waiting to see whether this will bring justice to not only Steenkamp, but all victims in the country, and bring change to the the South African law system. Sadly, we have all been proven wrong.
- The reader is an Emirati business graduate based in Dubai.
