They argue that Pistorius, a multiple Paralympic champion and a history-making amputee athlete who ran at the 2012 Olympics, was a scared disabled man when he shot Ms Steenkamp through the toilet door.
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Mr. Pistorius has long maintained that he thought an intruder had entered their home in Pretoria, and that he had no intention of killing Ms. Steenkamp when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door. Pistorius already served one year of a five-year sentence for manslaughter, in the medical ward of a Pretoria prison, before being released to house arrest.
Pistorius is being sentenced again after the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside his culpable homicide conviction and replaced it with one of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The cousin, Kim Martin, also criticized Pistorius for not testifying at this week’s sentencing hearing but agreeing to a television interview that will be broadcast after the hearing ends.
Graphic pictures of Reeva Steenkamp’s dead body after she was killed by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius have been released to the public following a request from her family that they wanted “the world to see” the images as a warning to anyone thinking of using firearms. The 73-year-old told the court that he turned to self-harm to imagine what she must have felt just before her death.
A state prosecutor argued that Pistorius – who did not take the stand himself – had shown no remorse or told the court why he fired the shots, and asked the court jail the athlete for the prescribed minimum sentence of 15-years.
The court will reconvene on July 6, when Pistorius will be sentenced.
Today the state is due to put forward its final witness in the sentencing hearing that will determine the fate of Oscar Pistorius.
In court on Wednesday, he walked gingerly across the courtroom floor, his face tense, his hands holding onto the wooden benches for support, his eyes barely leaving the floor.
“It is three o’clock in the morning, it is dark, he is on his stumps”, Mr Roux said, stressing his client’s vulnerability.
As you remember, the paralympian was convicted in 2014 of shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines daythe previous year. “He did”, Nel said.
Under South African law, a murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence with a minimum of 15 years.
In response, prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked the court to display photos of Steenkamp’s bloodied head and torso after the shooting. While Oscar Pistorius’ prosecutors are looking for 15 years in jail, his defense team wants leniency on more prison time and Pistorius be consigned for community work with children.
At this, Pistorius stepped forward, removed his prostheses and hobbled awkwardly around the court on his stumps.
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Pistorius was originally convicted of culpable homicide – the equivalent of manslaughter – until the appeal court upgraded his crime to murder.
