South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home three years ago.
Judge Thokozile Masipa listed several mitigating factors for sentencing him to less than half the minimum 15-year term for murder, including the athlete's claim he believed he was shooting an intruder.
"The sentence that I impose on the accused ... is six years imprisonment," she said.
Pistorius, 29, hugged his family before being taken out of the court in Pretoria to begin serving his term.
The double-amputee Olympic and Paralympic sprinter was freed from prison last October after serving one year of a five-year term for culpable homicide - the equivalent of manslaughter.
But an appeals court upgraded his conviction to murder in December.
Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, a model, in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for a burglar when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.
The sentencing may not be the end of the saga, although Pistorius' defence team has announced it will not appeal the sentence, the state could launch a final round of appeals against the length of the prison term.
Pistorius will serve "between half and two thirds of the sentence" before he can apply for parole, said Andrew Fawcett, Pistorius' instructing lawyer.
In her ruling, Judge Masipa said that although the Steenkamp family had suffered great loss, Pistorius' life and career was also in ruins.
"The life of the accused shall also never be the same. He is a fallen hero and can never be at peace," she said.
Pistorius had the lower part of his legs amputated when he was a baby, and his lawyers argued that his physical disability and mental stress should be considered as mitigating circumstances to reduce his sentence.
During the hearings, his defence lawyer asked Pistorius to walk on his stumps to show the difficulty he faced dealing with the threat of an intruder.
But the state argued he had shown no remorse and called for him to receive no less than the minimum sentence for murder.
Some rights groups have said Pistorius, a wealthy white man and international celebrity, has received preferential treatment compared to others without his status or wealth.
Members of the Women's League of the ruling African National Congress, who have attended the trial in support of the murdered Ms Steenkamp, said the sentence handed down by Judge Masipa was not sufficient.
"First five years, now six years? She is an embarrassment to the justice system," ANCWL spokeswoman Jacqueline Mofokeng said of Masipa. "It is an insult to women in this country."
Outside the court, a group of people held up placards backing the athlete. One read: "Give Oscar his freedom back please".
Ms Steenkamp's father Barry, who said during sentencing hearings that Pistorius must pay for his crime, declined to comment on the prospects for an appeal.
"We'll leave that to the state," he told reporters.
