Oscar Pistorius will be back in court today to be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steeenkamp.
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The pre-sentencing arguments will be heard at Pretoria High Court.
Pistorius faces a minimum 15-year jail term for murder, but his sentence could be reduced due to time already spent in prison and mitigating factors, including his disability.
The National Prosecuting Authority approached the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to argue that he should have been found guilty of murder.
Jonathan Scholtz, a psychologist called by Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux, told the sentencing hearing that the athlete, who attended in a dark suit and at times sat with his head in his hands, was on medication for depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Mahlangu said that the earlier ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal had reaffirmed that South African courts can be trusted to dispense justice for victims of gender based violence. Nel also said Pistorius was not confined to his cell for 18 hours a day, as the psychologist said he was, but rather was allowed to walk around a separate wing of the prison he shared with only one other inmate. In 2014, Pistorius was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in jail in the death Steenkamp, who was shot through a bathroom door by Pistorius. He had spent almost a year in Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria. There’s been a trial, a verdict, a sentence and an appeal.
After serving a year in jail, Pistorius was released on parole in line with South African procedure and has been living under house arrest at his uncle’s mansion since October last. He first assessed Pistorius in May 2014 when the court referred Pistorius for assessment.
The conviction was upgraded to murder by South Africa’s Supreme Court previous year and judges have said Pistorius has no more options to appeal.
Prof Scholtz said Pistorius may have acted violently as he was still adapting to prison and affected by medication.
Pistorius’s final days in court will mark the end of a dramatic fall from grace for an athlete who was once considered a heroic example of triumph over adversity.
Experts say a custodial sentence seems nearly unavoidable but factors such as his mental fragility, disability and good behaviour might lead to a reduced jail term.
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The defence will have to decide whether it is expedient to call Pistorius himself but this is likely to be viewed as a high-risk gamble as this would open him up to some potentially fierce and damaging cross examination by the doughty prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
