SOUTH AFRICA -- Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius stood and faced Judge Thokozile Masipa as she announced the sentence in a South African courtroom on Wednesday.
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Pistorius was facing a possible 15-year jail term for shooting Steenkamp through a toilet cubicle door at his home in 2013, but Masipa said substantial and compelling circumstances existed in the double-amputee Olympic runner's case to give him a lesser sentence.
Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, were present in the courtroom, which was packed with relatives of both Pistorius and Steenkamp and other observers.
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In reading out the sentence, Judge Masipa said Pistorius was a "fallen hero."
The judge ordered a recess to give prosecutors and Pistorius' defense lawyers time to decide if either wanted to appeal the sentence.