A ‘tense and
bewildered’ Oscar Pistorius was tonight locked in a single cell as he
began a five-year jail term on the secure hospital wing of one of South
Africa’s most notorious prisons.
Dressed
in the regulation orange uniform of Pretoria Central - where gang
culture and violence are rife - the jailed Paralympia was visited by the
facility’s chaplain and psychologist.
Pistorius,
29, had been driven to the prison unshackled and alone in the back of
an armoured police vehicle, with sirens blazing and armed guards
clinging to the sides.
Earlier
today he was jailed for five years for killing his model girlfriend
Reeva Steenkamp as she cowered behind his bathroom door on Valentine’s
Day last year - but he could spend as little as ten months behind bars.
Taken down: Oscar Pistorius says his
final goodbyes to his family as he is escorted to the holding cells at
the high court in Pretoria after being sentenced to five years in prison
for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
It
was decided against transporting the disgraced sprinter the mile or so
to the sprawling facility along with other defendants from Pretoria’s
High Court as this is the most dangerous time for any new inmate to be
on the move. Any prisoner who could claim to have harmed the 'Blade
Runner’ while in transit would undoubtedly win welcome notoriety within
the prison gang culture which rewards acts of violence.
The
facility’s area commissioner Zebilon Monama confirmed Pistorius had
been escorted to his single cell, after surrendering his dark suit and
shoes, having his fingerprints taken and been assessed as a candidate
for the medical wing.
'He is a little bit tired and tense, but the chaplain went to talk to him,' Mr Monama told the South African SAPA news agency.
'He
is deurmekaar [bewildered in Afrikaans]. After he saw the chaplain our
psychologist went to see him, just to try talk to him.'
The
double amputee had been space in the hospital wing following an
assessment which concluded Pistorius was 'vulnerable'. Two nurses
observe the wing around the clock, which is also heavily guarded by
prison officers, Mr Monama said. Pistorius is being held on the wing
along with eight other disabled offenders - two with prosthetic legs,
two who are blind and five who are wheelchair-bound.
'It
is my responsibility to protect any vulnerable person,' Mr Monama said,
denying that the double amputee had been given any special treatment
because of his fame.
Asked
what Pistorius was to be given for his first meal in prison, Mr Monama
said he did not know but said it would be a good one, provided by an
outside caterer.
'People here get three meals a day. They're cooking nice food. You'll get nice food... we take care of the people,' he added.
Saving his possessions: The runner takes his watch off before being led down to the cells below the courtroom
Comforted: The athlete hands the watch
to his uncle Arnold (centre right), who later said his nephew would not
appeal the five-year prison sentence
Led away: Pistorius could spend only
ten months in jail and, provided he poses no trouble to the prison
authorities, could spend the remainder of his sentence under
correctional supervision at home
Jailed: Oscar Pistorius reacts as he is handed a five-year prison term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The
disgraced Paralympian wiped his eyes as he was handed a five-year prison
term after the judge ruled that a non-custodial sentence would send the
'wrong message to the community'.
As
he was led down to the cells, Miss Steenkamp's mother, June, smiled as
she told of a sense of 'closure' after a seventh-month trial, but said
it 'would not magic Reeva back.'
The
model's ailing father, who suffered a stroke after his daughter's
death, said he was 'very glad' the trial was over. A lawyer for the
family said the sentence was 'welcome'.
The
runner's sister Aimee briefly covered her head with a jacket and looked
distressed. His family said he would not appeal the sentence.
Pistorius
was later driven away from court in a prison van to the gang-ridden
Pretoria Central Prison, where one criminal kingpin has already
threatened to 'take him out'.
The
athlete was found guilty of culpable homicide, but was acquitted of
murder after shooting Miss Steenkamp four times through a toilet cubicle
door at his home last year.
According
to legal observers, Pistorius could spend only ten months in jail and,
provided he poses no trouble to the prison authorities, could spend the
remainder of his sentence under correctional supervision at home.
According
to the Act under which Pistorius was sentenced, he must spend at least
one-sixth of his sentence before he can apply for leave to serve the
rest under 'correctional supervision'.
The
athlete appeared to have prepared himself to spend some time behind
bars, while his uncle Arnold Pistorius, the head of the large family,
said there would be no appeal against the sentence.
National
Prosecuting Authority, who have two weeks to decide whether to appeal
against verdict or sentence, suggested they would be content to draw a
line under the matter.
'We have stated that we were disappointed with the judgment but we take solace in fact that Pistorius will serve time in jail.'
After
a summary of the evidence in the case and related legal issues, judge
Thozile Masipa said: 'Having regard to the circumstances of the matter, I
am of the view that a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong
message to the community.
'On the other hand, a long sentence would also not be appropriate either as it would lack the element of mercy.'
She
also said it would be a 'sad day' for South Africa if there was a
perception that it had one law for the rich and another for the poor.
Asking
Pistorius to stand, she said: 'The following... is what I consider to
be a sentence that is fair and just, both to society and to the
accused.'
Earlier, she described Miss Steenkamp as 'vivacious and full of life'.
Sentence
would not magic Reeva back': Miss Steenkamp's mother June (pictured
after the hearing) said she felt a sense of 'closure' after the
seven-month trial, but it would not bring any comfort over her
daughter's loss
Despair: The runner's sister, Aimee,
who has attended every day of the seven-month-long trial and sentencing
hearing, looks on in disbelief as her brother is jailed for five years
Stunned: Pistorius's father Henke leaves the high court after his son was jailed for five years for manslaughter
The court heard her parents June and Barry in particular were 'not coping very well without their daughter'.
Judge
Masipa said: 'The loss of life cannot be reversed. Nothing I say or do
today can reverse what happened on February 14 2013 to the deceased and
to her family.
'Hopefully,
this judgment on sentence shall provide some sort of closure for the
family and all concerned so that they can move on with their lives.'
Judge
Masipa also sentenced Pistorius to three years in prison for unlawfully
firing a gun in a restaurant in a separate incident weeks before Miss
Steenkamp's death.
She ordered that sentence to be wholly suspended.
After
Pistorius was asked to stand by Judge Masipa, he quickly removed his
designer watch from his wrist and held it behind his back as she told
him he was going to jail.
He passed the watch to his uncle as he descended into the bowels of the court to the holding cells.
Pistorius had every reason to not want to take the timepiece into the notorious prison.
During
his murder trial the court had heard how a watch worth £6,000 had been
stolen from a display case holding eight designer watches in the
athlete’s bedroom, even as crime scene officers were gathering blood
spatter and other forensic evidence nearby.
The
theft prompted every officer at the scene to be frisked and have their
bags and vehicles to be searched when they left Pistorius’ property. The
watch was never recovered.
Aimee
Pistorius sent down a mobile phone and wash bag to the cells where her
brother was allowed to make final calls before leaving for jail.
While
his uncle Arnold used a press conference to lambast prosecutors for
ever charging him with premeditated murder, Pistorius was driven to jail
in an armoured police van, with tactical response guards hanging on.
He arrived at Pretoria Central prison, a little over a mile from the court, within minutes, driven in through a side entrance.
Incarcerated: The
double-amputee is escorted into a prison van before being driven to
Pretoria Central Prison where he will serve his sentence
Starting life behind bars: Pistorius is led into an armoured vehicle before being transported to prison
Pistorius is seen in the back of an armoured police vehicle as he is transported away from the High Court
Heavy security: Pistorius was driven to jail in an armoured police van, with tactical response guards hanging on
Visiting days at the prison are weekends and public holidays.
Last
year, the notorious facility was re-named the Kgosi Mampuru II - a
traditional chief who was hanged at the prison in 1883 after being
wrongly accused of murder.
After
the sentencing, Miss Steenkamp's sister, Simone Cowburn, told
MailOnline that no amount of punishment for Pistorius would repair the
pain and loss of her parents and half-brother.
'Watching what my parents have gone through has been very hard. It has destroyed my family. It will never be the same again.'
She said she believed the Blade Runner would receive 'special treatment in prison because of his money and power.'
Ms
Cowburn, 49, said she would never accept the defence put forward by
Pistorius that he did not know it was Reeva in the toilet when he opened
fire.
'He had no right to shoot through that door with those bullets. You wouldn't even shoot an animal with those bullets.'
She
and her mother June are working to set up a refuge for battered women
in South Africa and say they will continue campaigning against domestic
violence.
'Today is about justice': Sisters Gina
and Kim Myers, who lived with Miss Steenkamp in Johannesburg, said
nothing would bring the model back no matter how harsh the sentence, but
it would help the healing process
Shock: Oscar Pistorius's brother, Carl, leaves the High Court following his brother's sentencing in Pretoria
Carl Pistorius tweets his reaction to his brother's five-year prison term along with pictures of them as children
Family support: Carl Pistorius tweets a
comment made his uncle Arnold who attacked prosecutors for ever
charging the athlete with premeditated murder
Sisters
Gina and Kim Myers, who lived with Miss Steenkamp in Johannesburg said
nothing would bring the model back no matter how harsh the sentence.
Gina
Myers told MailOnline: 'Today is about justice. We believe that today
is just one step closer to healing for the family and friends and for
the rest of the world.'
Kim Myers added: 'Nothing is ever going to completely heal everybody. It is just one step closer.'
Pistorius
testified during his murder trial that he mistook Miss Steenkamp for a
dangerous night-time intruder about to come out of the cubicle and
attack him when he opened fire with his 9mm pistol.
Judge
Masipa last month ruled that Pistorius did not intend to kill Miss
Steenkamp, but he acted negligently and with excessive force in the
Valentine's Day 2013 killing.
Prosecutors had demanded at least 10 years in prison for the double-amputee athlete.
His
defence lawyers argued that three years of correctional supervision,
with periods of house arrest and community service, would be
appropriate.
The double-amputee embraces his father Henke (left) and his coach Ampie Louw (right) before sentencing
White roses and a sick bucket are the
only items left in the dock after the athlete was taken away to prison.
He vomited and retched on a number of occasions during horrific
testimony in his murder trial
She
also said it would be a 'sad day' for South Africa if there was a
perception that it had one law for the rich and another for the poor.
She added: 'Nothing I do or say can reverse what happened to the deceased or her family.'
Pistorius
testified during his murder trial that he mistook Miss Steenkamp for a
dangerous nighttime intruder about to come out of the cubicle and attack
him when he shot four times through the door with his 9mm pistol.
Judge
Masipa last month ruled that Pistorius did not intend to kill Miss
Steenkamp, but he acted negligently and with excessive force in the
Valentine's Day 2013 killing.
He
was also convicted of unlawfully firing a gun in a restaurant weeks
before Steenkamp's death. That normally carries a fine for a first
offense, but has a maximum of five years in prison.
Intimate:
Reeva Steenkamp poses for a personal shoot with photographer and close
friend Kerry Smith at Sardinia Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in
July 2003 at the age of 19 before her modelling career took off
Hanging out: Miss Steenkamp (right)
pictured with friends Chuma (left), Nadia (front) and Joelene (back)
during a sleepover at friend Kerry Smith's house in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa in 2003
Prosecutors demanded at least 10 years in prison for the double-amputee athlete.
His
defence lawyers argued that three years of correctional supervision,
with periods of house arrest and community service, would be
appropriate.
Pistorius was escorted through crowds of onlookers and into the courthouse by police officers wearing blue berets.
The
parents of Miss Steenkamp, the woman he shot multiple times through a
toilet cubicle door in his home on February 14 last year were also in
court to hear the sentence.
The courtroom was packed, reflecting heightened media and public interest ahead of the sentencing.
Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius makes his way past a bunch of roses as he enters the High Court
Prosecutors demanded at least 10 years in prison for the double-amputee athlete for killing Miss Steenkamp
Police officers stood guard in the aisles.
Before proceedings started, Dr Lore Hartzenberg, a psychologist, held Pistorius's hand and spoke softly to him.
He
had given evidence for the defence that Pistorius was a 'broken man'
after killing his girlfriend and had suffered emotionally and
financially.
A Pistorius supporter laid three white roses near the athlete.
'I
just wanted to bestow a little bit of inner happiness on Oscar,' said
the supporter, who added that she thought he had lost a lot of
self-respect.
Outside
the courthouse, a man in orange clothing carried chains and a large
sign that read: 'Are certain offenders more equal than other offenders
before the law?'
Masipa
has a wide range of options available to her at the climax of the trial
because there is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide.
Pistorius,
27, could serve no jail time, and possibly consider returning to the
career that made him one of the world's most recognizable runners on his
carbon-fibre running blades, and the first amputee to compete on the
track at the Olympics in 2012.
He
could be placed under house arrest, or he could be sent to prison for
up to 15 years, almost certainly ending his running days.
Pistorius's
brother and sister, Carl and Aimee, gave interviews to a South African
television station on the eve of the sentencing, describing what they
said was a difficult and emotional time in the more than a
year-and-a-half since their brother killed Miss Steenkamp.
Reeva Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, arrive at the High Court for the final day of sentencing
Support: Oscar Pistorius's uncle Arnold and aunt Lois arrive at the High Court for the final day of the sentencing
Judgement day: Oscar Pistorius arrives at court to be sentenced for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
'It has been a long journey to this point,' Aimee Pistorius told eNCA.
'A
very taxing one. It is difficult to support someone through something
like this - all the guilt and ridicule and obviously the exposure that
has come with it.'
Carl Pistorius said: 'Tomorrow will be very difficult. This is a weight we all have to carry.'
During
his sentencing hearing last week, Pistorius's chief defence lawyer
called social workers and a psychologist who testified that the athlete
had suffered significantly already, both emotionally and financially.
'He's not only broke, but he's broken,' chief defence lawyer Barry Roux said of Pistorius. 'There is nothing left of this man.'
Pistorius's
defence team also argued that South African prisons cannot cater for
his disability and he would be vulnerable. Roux even cited an alleged
threat against Pistorius by a reputed prison gang leader.
Pistorius testified during his murder
trial that he mistook Miss Steenkamp (above) for a dangerous intruder
about to come out of the cubicle and attack him when he shot four times
through the door with his 9mm pistol
ULTRA-HIGH SECURITY WING AWAITS PISTORIUS IF HE IS JAILED - ALONGSIDE NOTORIOUS CZECH INMATE ON TRIAL FOR TORTURE
A
high-security cell has been prepared for Oscar Pistorius alongside a
notorious Czech prisoner on trial for torture, according to reports.
At
last week's sentencing hearing, Pistorius's legal team called for the
Paralympian to be spared jail and placed under house arrest citing fears
for his safety from violence and disease.
Defence
counsel Barry Roux quoted from a newspaper interview with a gang leader
who had threatened to order a hit on Pistorius if he is given special
treatment in prison.
With
prison authorities under acute pressure to guarantee the fallen track
star's safety, a meeting of senior correctional services officials met
on Friday to draw up plans to keep him safe.
According
to South African news agency EWN, a cell has been set aside for
Pistorius in a wing of just six cells at Pretoria Central prison, which
is guarded by a special task force and where Radovan Krejcir (right) is
being held.
Security at the wing is second only to the notorious 'C Max' wing - where the most dangerous inmates are held.
Prison
life in South Africa is characterised by an elaborate system of gangs,
through which much prisoner-on-prisoner violence is mediated, a report
by a human rights group has found.
While gang activity is common to many prison systems, South African prison gangs are distinctive.
Most importantly, they have a national organisation.
As
such, a gang member who is transferred from one prison to another, or
even released and re-imprisoned, will keep his membership and gang rank
in the new prison.
The
three predominant gangs operating in South Africa's prisons today are
the 28s, 27s and 26s, known collectively as the 'number gangs'.
Stark conditions: Prisoners are lined
up inside the Kgosi Mumpuru 11 Management Centre during a surprise raid
by prison officials checking for drugs and other contraband. The jail is
the most likely one that Oscar Pistorius will be sent to if he is given
a prison term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Krejcir
is currently on trial at the High Court in Johannesburg for alleged
kidnapping and torture, but is being held in Pretoria as he is
considered a high security risk prisoner.
Pretoria
Central Prison was the execution site of dozens of black political
activists by South Africa's white-only apartheid government, which ended
with the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994.
It
is now the home of apartheid death squad leader Eugene de Kock, known
as 'Prime Evil', and is known for a vicious gang culture.
The correctional services department on Monday denied that it was making arrangements in advance of Pistorius's sentencing.
Grim: The athlete's lawyer has argued that there will be a risk from prison gangs if he is sent to jail
The trial of Krejcir is one of the most high profile and high security South Africa has ever seen.
The
fugitive arrived in South Africa on a fake passport and since then a
number of his business rivals and associates have died in mysterious
circumstances, including German super car conversion specialist Uwe
Gemballa and the owner of a string of strip clubs, 'Lolly' Jackson.
The
special arrangements come after Pistorius's legal team told the court
their client faces threats from a ruthless prison gang leader is he is
given preferential treatment in jail.
Khalil
Subjee - known as The General - said he would order 'a hit' on the
double-amputee if his fame and wealth bought him an easy time behind
bars.
Defence
lawyer Barry Roux quoted the claims from a newspaper article to argue
that the athlete's life would be at risk if he was jailed for killing
his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Prosecutors insist Pistorius must go to prison because of what they called the 'horrific' nature of Steenkamp's death.
The 29-year-old model was hit in the head, arm and hip with hollow-point bullets fired by Pistorius.
Chief
prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that the defence's suggestion of house
arrest and 16 hours of community service a month was a 'shockingly
inappropriate' sentence.
Recent sentences for culpable homicide in South Africa have been cited by analysts of Pistorius's case.
A
singer known as Jub Jub had his murder conviction overturned and
replaced with a culpable homicide conviction after a 2010 drag race,
when he and another man ploughed their cars into a group of
schoolchildren on a road, killing four and seriously injuring two.
The singer was sentenced to eight years in prison for culpable homicide.
In
2011, a South African rugby player convicted of culpable homicide for
the beating death of a policeman on a Pretoria road was given a
five-year suspended prison sentence.
He served no jail time and paid the victim's family $85,000 in compensation.
On
Monday, correctional services authorities denied media reports by a
radio network that they were already preparing a cell for Pistorius in a
high-security section of Pretoria Central Prison ahead of the
announcement of his sentence.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2801195/oscar-pistorius-finally-learn-sentence-killing-reeva-steenkamp.html#ixzz3Gqoia7Ji
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