Recently in the news it is common to hear about celebrities and famous athletes who have come under fire for their actions.
These past couple of weeks the NFL has taken over the spotlight of major headlines with the scandal involving Ray Rice.
Ultimately, the issue of domestic violence within the NFL has made just about everyone forget the significance surrounding the murder trial of a South African Olympian.
Track and field is not necessarily considered to be a popular Olympic sport. Oscar Pistorius was an athlete who drew more publicity to this sport given his recent performance during the 2012 Olympics in London.
What makes Oscar Pistorius a unique athlete is the fact that he was the first double- leg amputee to participate in the Olympics.
About nine months later in February of 2013, Pistorius had found himself in major news headlines again.
This time Pistorius was the subject of discussion for being accused of murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius was highly profiled by the media.
Pistorius had allegedly believed that his girlfriend was an intruder and subsequently shot her in his home.
A few weeks ago, Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide, which is South Africa’s equivalent to manslaughter.
Pistorius was granted bail and is due back in court on Oct. 13 for sentencing.
The prosecution in this case had respected the decision made by the court, but still believed that Pistorius should have been convicted of pre-meditated murder.
Some people believe that Pistorius has gotten away with murder, while others have the viewpoint that he had fully intended to kill his girlfriend.
This is not the first time that a famous athlete has possibly gotten away with murder.
Earlier this year had marked the 20th anniversary of the verdict of the murder trail of OJ Simpson. Simpson, a former professional football player, was accused of killing his ex- wife Nicole.
Just like Pistorius’s trial, this trial was also very popular in news headlines.
Additionally, the trial of OJ Simpson had resulted in Simpson being found not guilty.
The question now is whether or not Pistorius has gotten away with murder.
This question is relatively hard to answer without first knowing the outcome of his sentencing. In the South African legal system culpable homicide carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
Also, Pistorius could also face an additional five years in prison for being in the possession of a firearm.
If given the maximum sentence for both of these crimes this Olympian could face up to 20 years in prison.
There is no doubt to the fact that celebrities have an advantage of not having to be held fully accountable for their actions due to their fame and status.
The world witnessed an example of this firsthand when the NFL had allegedly covered up the Ray Rice incident.
Had Ray Rice not been a representation of the NFL, the video of him would have been acknowledged much sooner.
Moreover, when high-profiled individuals are accused of a crime they have the advantage of the luxury of having the best possible attorneys.
At the end of the day much of society looks up to celebrities.
Some see these individuals as people who are incapable of doing any wrong.
In the case of Oscar Pistorius because he was so admired by the public it could have been hard for the court to believe that he did not in fact act in self-defense by committing murder.
Conclusively, Pistorius’s punishment will be the only true indication as to whether or not another athlete has gotten away with murder.
