Jonathan Scholtz, appearing for the defense, said the athlete told him he had overheard the sound of a young inmate being raped in prison, and later found out the victim killed himself.
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Pistorius was initially sentenced to five years for culpable homicide and spent a year behind bars in Pretoria before being granted a public pardon and being released in October last year. In December a year ago, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned his conviction of culpable homicide and referred the matter back to Masipa to determine an appropriate sentence.
Last year, Judge Thokozile Masipa found him guilty not of murder but manslaughter, saying the state had failed to prove he had meant to kill either Steenkamp or an intruder.
Pistorius, 29, known as “Blade Runner” for the carbon-fiber prosthetic blades he used to race, faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence and can not appeal after the country’s top court ruled in March that he had exhausted all his legal options.
“Since the offence he has developed a serious psychiatric condition which has become worse over the past two years – major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder”, Dr Scholtz said.
The case at the High Court in Pretoria was scheduled to last until Friday, though the sentence could be handed down earlier.
He said Mr. Pistorius was traumatized by being unable to attend the funeral of his girlfriend, lawyer and model Reeva Steenkamp, or properly mourn for her.
Original trial judge Thokozile Masipa will hear arguments from both prosecution and defence this week. Scholtz said he had not, but had spoken with the psychiatrist, and still believes the athlete should be hospitalised and more prison time could exacerbate his condition.
The athlete’s legal team is expected to call witnesses who will argue that Masipa should be lenient because of the athlete’s mental fragility, physical disability and good behavior during nearly a year behind bars for the original manslaughter conviction.
Pistorius has reportedly given away all of his guns and says he has no desire to touch the deadly weapons again.
Nel asked Scholtz whether, during his compilation of his report on Pistorius, he had access to correctional services documents indicating his temper tantrums.
After his original imprisonment, Oscar was released in October after serving nearly a year, on the understanding that he completed the remainder of his sentence at his uncle’s home in Pretoria.
In South Africa murder carries a mandatory sentence of 15 years minimum – although there is a caveat built in “unless there are substantial and compelling circumstances”.
While Pistorius said he shot Steenkamp in the belief she was an intruder, the Supreme Court decided that he must have known the bullets would have killed whomever was behind the door.
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Pistorius won six Paralympic gold medals and was the first double-amputee runner to compete at the Olympic Games.
