News / International
10 years jail recommended for Oscar Pistorius
17 Oct 2014 at 17:02hrs | Views
Judge Thokozile Masipa has announced that Pistorius will be sentenced next Tuesday.
The prosecution and defence teams presented their final arguments after the judge cleared Pistorius of murder but convicted him of culpable homicide for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
The state prosecutor Gerrie Nel has argued that the Paralympian should be jailed for 10 years to meet society's demands.
"The minimum term that society will be happy with will be 10 years' imprisonment," prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court. "This is a serious matter. The negligence borders on intent. Ten years is the minimum."
Nel called a proposed house arrest sentence "shockingly disproportionate" for what Pistorius did when he shot four times through a locked toilet door in his home, hitting Steenkamp in the head, arm and hip.
"The deceased died in a small cubicle behind a closed door," Nel said. "Three bullets ripped through her body … When I think about that, it must have been horrific."
The prosecutor said he had heard many voices saying "please don't break the accused". Yet Pistorius had broken an entire family, he added. Responding to defence arguments that Pistorius had already been punished by negative media coverage, Nel sarcastically parodied their version of events: "I'm a victim, feel sorry for me, the media victimised me. When I wanted the media to capture my brilliant athletic performance, I loved them; when the media write about my trial, it's unfair."
Masipa appeared to side with the prosecution on this point. "You can take it from me," she told Nel, referring to the defence's argument about the media, "all those paragraphs will be disregarded."
Nel argued that the Pistorius fought to race alongside able-bodied athletes so it was "shameless" that he now used his disability as an excuse. He rejected concerns that prison showers do not have rails for the disabled, claiming that he had seen in photos that Pistorius's shower in his own home did not have rails.
The prosecutor again criticised the offer of money by Pistorius to the Steenkamp family. "I cannot but think this is an attempt to influence," he said, adding that they had rejected it as "blood money".
The prosecution and defence teams presented their final arguments after the judge cleared Pistorius of murder but convicted him of culpable homicide for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
The state prosecutor Gerrie Nel has argued that the Paralympian should be jailed for 10 years to meet society's demands.
"The minimum term that society will be happy with will be 10 years' imprisonment," prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court. "This is a serious matter. The negligence borders on intent. Ten years is the minimum."
Nel called a proposed house arrest sentence "shockingly disproportionate" for what Pistorius did when he shot four times through a locked toilet door in his home, hitting Steenkamp in the head, arm and hip.
"The deceased died in a small cubicle behind a closed door," Nel said. "Three bullets ripped through her body … When I think about that, it must have been horrific."
The prosecutor said he had heard many voices saying "please don't break the accused". Yet Pistorius had broken an entire family, he added. Responding to defence arguments that Pistorius had already been punished by negative media coverage, Nel sarcastically parodied their version of events: "I'm a victim, feel sorry for me, the media victimised me. When I wanted the media to capture my brilliant athletic performance, I loved them; when the media write about my trial, it's unfair."
Masipa appeared to side with the prosecution on this point. "You can take it from me," she told Nel, referring to the defence's argument about the media, "all those paragraphs will be disregarded."
Nel argued that the Pistorius fought to race alongside able-bodied athletes so it was "shameless" that he now used his disability as an excuse. He rejected concerns that prison showers do not have rails for the disabled, claiming that he had seen in photos that Pistorius's shower in his own home did not have rails.
The prosecutor again criticised the offer of money by Pistorius to the Steenkamp family. "I cannot but think this is an attempt to influence," he said, adding that they had rejected it as "blood money".
Source - Guardian
