BREAKING: Blayne Shepard jailed for 3 years

Williams was beaten to death outside Kings Park stadium in Durban after a Super 15 rugby match in March 2013. Shepard, his brother Kyle and their friends Andries van der Merwe and Dustin van Wyk were originally charged with murder.

Kyle, Van der Merwe and Van Wyk were later acquitted. Charges against fifth accused Grant Cramer were withdrawn when he agreed to turn State witness. In sentencing Shepard, Magistrate Trevor Levitt said the seriousness of the offense did not allow for a sentence of correctional supervision. 

While taking into account public interest in the matter, Levitt says the object of sentencing is not to satisfy public opinion but is aimed at retribution and to serve as a deterrent. Levitt has acknowledged that Shepard was not the only one involved in the incident and hence the less severe sentence. 

Shepard's family sat on the edge of their seats throughout sentencing proceedings listening attentively. They wept as the sentence was handed down while the clean-shaven Shepard kept his head bowed. 

(File photo)