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Pistorius to be sentenced in June for girlfriend Steenkamp's murder

The sentencing hearing for Pistorius will be held from June 13 to 17 at Pretoria High Court.

Pretoria, South Africa: South Africa's former Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius appeared briefly in a Pretoria court where a judge scheduled five days in June to determine his sentence for the conviction of murdering his girlfriend.

The sentencing hearing for Pistorius will be held from June 13 to 17 at Pretoria High Court.

The 29-year-old double amputee sprinter, who was found guilty of murdering Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, was greeted by a small group of supporters outside the court.

The sentencing hearing will be heard by Judge Thokozile Masipa, who presided over Pistorius's trial and found him guilty of manslaughter, a verdict that was loverturned by a higher court that found him guilty of murder.

Pistorius had appealed his murder conviction at South Africa's Constitutional Court, arguing that a lower court erred when it overturned his manslaughter conviction and found him guilty of murder. The Constitutional Court judges dismissed his appeal.

The minimum sentence for murder in South Africa is 15 years, though it can be reduced in some circumstances.

( Source : AP )
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