Judge Thokozile Masipa found the six-time Paralympic champion guilty of culpable homicide.

He was also handed a three-year suspended sentence for a firearms offence.

Pistorius' defence lawyer Barry Roux has revealed that he expects the athlete to serve a minimum of 10 months in jail before being completing the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

In her sentencing, Judge Masipa ruled a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community, but a long sentence would not be appropriate because it would appear to lack mercy.

She said there must be a balance between "retribution, deterrence and rehabilitation".

"Sentencing is about achieving the right balance," said Judge Masipa

"Sentencing is not a perfect exercise."

Judge Masipa could have imposed a jail-time of anything up to 15 years on Pistorius or hand out a suspended sentence or fine.

The 27-year-old, who also competed in the Olympics at London 2012, fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013 because he claimed he believed there was an intruder in the house.

Three of those bullets struck the 29-year-old model and law graduate, killing her.

Pistorius had been dating Reeva Steenkamp for three months before shooting her dead in February 2013 ©AFP/Getty Images



In passing her judgemnet, Judge Masipa added: "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."

Pistorius was cleared of premeditated murder last month but was convicted of culpable homicide, with the judge saying he had been negligent.

Prosecutors had called for at least a minimum of 10 years in jail for the athlete.

Pistorius was taken to the cells immediately after the verdict was delivered in Pretoria High Court and it is believed he will spend his sentence in the hospital wing of Pretoria Central Prison.

Defence lawyers had argued that Pistorius would be a vulnerable target in jail due to his disability.

But Judge Masipa dismissed the evidence of defence witness Annette Vergeer, a social worker, as "slapdash" and "disappointing".

Reacting to the sentence, Dup De Bruyn, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, has said that "justice was served" while Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry said "we are satisfied".

The State prosecuting authority has not yet decided whether to appeal against Pistorius' conviction for culpable homicide.

Meantime, the International Paralympic Committee has announced Pistorius will not be allowed to compete in any of their events for the next five years - ruling him out of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games if he is released before serving his full sentence.


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