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There is a constitutional requirement that the punishment imposed, must not be disproportionate to the offense. A number of aggravating factors relating to the crime may be considered. One such factor is the severity of the crime. What severity means, as would be the case with other factors, depends on the offense in question.
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In the category of mitigating factors, factors such as
• age – now aged 29
• the fact that it is the offender’s first offense – found guilty of murder for the first time
• bad health – double amputee who otherwise enjoys good health
• gainful employment - unemployedullhair:
He is well educated and his family owns ca. 150 companies around SA. Tomorrow he would have a job, I think.
• lack of planning – premeditation not proven but SCA found intent to kill
• remorse – he has never, IMO, shown any remorse whatsoever for murdering Reeva. He displayed a callous disregard for her family by not even contacting them to tell them their daughter was dead, nor did he ask his lawyer or siblings to do so on his behalf. He has never acknowledged what he did other than to say “It was a mistake”. For remorse to be a valid consideration, the penitence must be sincere and yet he did not take the court into his confidence. Unless that happened, the genuineness of the contrition alleged to exist has not been proven.
• a guilty plea - he pleaded not guilty
• a belief in religion – while professing to be a Christian, he only ever asked what his God could do for him. His actions and words are the antithesis of what you would expect from a supposedly good Christian.
A sentence must serve the public interest. This incorporates the traditional purposes of punishment (deterrence, rehabilitation, protection, and retribution) into the sentencing considerations.
For instance, aggravating factors may include that
• the offender is dangerous and a long period of incarceration will protect the community – the sheer recklessness of his behaviour on countless occasions prior to murdering Reeva coupled with the fact that he’s now a convicted murderer, has shown that he is a danger to the community.
• the offense is so prevalent that a greater-than-usual punishment is appropriate as a deterrent – the incidence of crime against women in SA is the highest in the world.
The public interest may also result in an aggravated sentence if the victim was defenceless - defenceless doesn't even come close to describing it.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/sentencing-guidelines/southafrica.php#Introduction
rsbm (space)