SOMERSET WEST: Oscar Pistorius is going back to jail. The only question now is for how long? It could be 15 years. The double-amputee Olympic runner’s sentencing hearing opens on Monday (today) after he was convicted of murder by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. It’ll be the second time Pistorius has been sentenced for the killing following an appeal by prosecutors. The three-year legal saga that began with the fatal gunshots in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s Day 2013 now appears to be near its end.

A recap of the case: why is Pistorius being sentenced again? He was initially convicted of the lesser charge of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, at his 2014 trial for shooting Steenkamp through a closed toilet door in his home. Following Pistorius’ manslaughter verdict, prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court, saying that the former star athlete, a multiple Paralympic champion, should have been found guilty of murder.

They argued that Pistorius intended to kill someone, even if he didn’t know it was Steenkamp in the toilet cubicle. In December, a panel of Supreme Court judges agreed with prosecutors, overturned Pistorius’ manslaughter conviction, and raised it to a more serious murder conviction. Pistorius must now be sentenced for murder.

What is he facing? Possibly 15 years in prison. That’s the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty. Legal experts say a judge can reduce that sentence in some circumstances, and that Pistorius’ disability and the fact that he is a first-time offender could be taken into account. He has also already served a year in prison.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2016