South African track star Oscar Pistorius, 27, was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for the shooting and killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. "I'm just glad it's over," June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, told reporters after the sentencing.

Last month, a judge found him guilty of culpable homicide, a South African analog to manslaughter. As the New York Times reports, Pistorius' lawyers have noted that the terms of his sentencing will only require the athlete to serve one-sixth of his term, or 10 months, before he can be placed on house arrest. From the Times:

But some South African legal experts said the conversion of prison time to house arrest was not automatic and required negotiations with the correctional authorities. After serving half the sentence, Mr. Pistorius can also apply for parole.

"Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society," Arnold Pistorius, Oscar's uncle, said in a statement.

Last Valentine's Day, Pistorius, claiming that he believed an intruder was in their Pretoria villa, fired four shots on a closed bathroom door. Steenkamp, inside, died almost instantly.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, who has presided over the months-long trial and sentencing of Pistorius, said she believed her ruling to be "fair and just, both to society and to the accused."

"It would be a sad day for this country if an impression was created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged and another for the rich and famous," Masipa said in court. "Righteous anger should not cloud judgment."

[Image via AP]