South African track star Oscar Pistorius should serve at least 10
years in prison for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on
Valentine's Day last year, the state prosecutor said at the close of the
athlete's sentencing hearing on Friday.
Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned the session until Tuesday,
when she is expected to sentence Pistorius and end a six-month, on-off
trial that has captivated millions worldwide.
The 27-year-old Paralympic and Olympic athlete, whose lower
legs were amputated as a baby, was convicted of culpable homicide last
month for the shooting of 29-year-old law graduate and model Steenkamp.
"The minimum term that society will be happy with will be 10 years
imprisonment," chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the hearing. "This is a
serious matter. The negligence borders on intent. Ten years is the
minimum."
The defence and prosecution teams have spent much of the
five-day sentencing hearing arguing over whether Pistorius should go to
jail or be punished with house arrest and community service. Legal
experts are split on the likely outcome.
A non-custodial sentence would be likely to spark public
anger, fuelling a perception among black South Africans that, 20 years
after the end of white-minority apartheid rule, wealthy whites can still
secure preferential justice. Masipa is only the second black female
judge in South Africa.
"We shouldn't fail the parents. We shouldn't fail society. Society may lose its trust in the court," Nel said.
Defence attorney Barry Roux earlier said the double-amputee
sprinter should be given community service because he had shown remorse
and had been punished enough since he shot dead Steenkamp through a
toilet door in his Pretoria apartment. Pistorius said he mistook
Steenkamp for an intruder.
"He wants to make good as far as possible. Serious regard
should be given to a community-based sentence so something good can come
out of this," Roux said.
"I have never seen an accused person as devastated as he is," he said.
"He is broken, there is nothing left of this man," the lawyer
said, adding the athlete didn't even have the money to cover his legal
expenses.
On September 12, Masipa found him guilty of manslaughter.
The judge said Pistorius did not mean to kill anyone, but
acted negligently and unreasonably, knowing there was someone in the
toilet with little room for manoeuvre when he fired.
Reuters, DPA
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