Athlete tottered on his stumps in a desperate last bid to
show judge he was too vulnerable to murder his girlfriend
Paralympian looked humiliated, his T-shirt wet with sweat
and eyes filled with tears, during TV sentencing hearing
Spectacle of one-time superstar's pathetic demonstration
prompted relatives and the public to break down in tears
By JANE FLANAGAN IN PRETORIA and SIMON TOMLINSON FOR BE INFORMED
PUBLISHED: 08:04 GMT, 15 June 2016 | UPDATED: 11:32 GMT, 15
June 2016
Oscar Pistorius teetered pathetically on his stumps in a
packed court room today in a desperate last bid to convince the judge he was too
vulnerable to have killed his girlfriend intentionally.
The athlete, known as the Blade Runner, looked humiliated
when he was asked to remove his prosthetic limbs to expose his stumps to the
televised hearing which will decide his murder sentence.
There was an awkward moment when Barry Steenkamp was forced
to stand to make way for his daughter's killer as he left the dock for the
dramatic demonstration.
His T-shirt wet with sweat and his red eyes filled with
tears, Pistorius paused at the side of the court to remove his prosthetic limbs
in the full view of the packed court.
The spectacle of the one-time sporting superstar tottering
across the court room prompted a number of family members, fans and members of
the public to break down in tears.
Loud sobs echoed around the wood-pannelled room as all eyes
watched Pistorius move unsteadily, and much dramatically reduced in height,
towards the front of the court.
As he struggled to stand still in front of the judge, and in
the glare of live television coverage, a cameraman had to step forward to
support him.
His therapist leapt to his aid, guiding him towards the
front bench of the court which he clutched to maintain his balance.
Pistorius, 29, appeared so humiliated by the demonstration
that he could only stare at the floor, tears flooding down his cheeks, as his
lawyer told the court how he did not wish 'to hide behind his fame'
When the strain of tottering became too much, he knelt down
on a cushion before wiping his eyes with a tissue passed to him by one of his
legal team.
Pistorius's sister Aimee, and his close friend Jenna Edkins,
wiped tears from their eyes at the excruciating demonstration of the athlete's
vulnerability.
Mr Steenkamp, 72, then had to stand for a second time to
allow the wretched Pistorius to return to the sanctuary of the dock where he
bent over, his powerful shoulders shaking as he sobbed.
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Can't bear to look: Oscar Pistorius, with his prosthetic legs visible in the dock, holds his head in his hands during the hearing
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Pistorius prepares to walk across the courtroom without his
prosthetic legs during the third day of the sentencing hearing for murder
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The spectacle of the one-time sporting superstar tottering
across the court room prompted a number of relatives to break down in tears
|
Closing his powerful argument in favour of leniency, Mr Roux
reminded the judge that punishment was 'not meant to break the offender'.
Pistorius was born without fibulas – calf bones – and at 11
months old, his parents made the difficult choice to have both of his legs
amputated below the knee, enabling him to be fitted with prosthetic legs.
Doctors told his parents that the operation would be less
traumatic before their son learned to walk.
During his evidence in the witness box, Pistorius described
the discomfort of wearing prosthetic legs, or his iconic carbon blades, and the
sores that he had to tend on a regular basis. His sentencing hearing heard how
his stumps became infected while in jail.
State Prosecutor Gerrie Nel later said he would support Mr
Steenkamp's demand for the 'world to see' the extent of Reeva's injuries, with
the ban to be lifted on publishing pictures of her bullet-riddled body.
'Isn't it time for the world to see what Oscar Pistorius did
with Black Talon rounds to Reeva Steenkamp's head?' he told the court,
referring to the expanding bullets used by Pistorius in the killing.
The deadly ammunition is used by the military and designed
to expand upon impact, wreaking devastating damage to the flesh it
strikes.
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Loud sobs echoed as all eyes watched Pistorius move
unsteadily, and much dramatically reduced in height, towards the front of the
court
|
He also questioned
Pistorius' claim of remorse, despite giving no consistent explanation for what
happened on the night Reeva was shot dead.
'Remorse without a credible explanation is impossible -
remorse for what?' he demanded to know.
'There is a difference between I am very sorry Reeva is dead
and I am sorry for myself that Reeva is dead,' Mr Nel argued.
Challenging the defence's request to spare Pistorius a
return to jail and hospitalising him instead said was too far from the
prescribed sentence for murder which is 15 years.
Earlier, Reeva Steenkamp's cousin today described the
enduring 'scars' left by the model's death on her family as she gave evidence
at a hearing to decide Oscar Pistorius's sentence for murder.
Kim Martin, who gave evidence as Miss Steenkamp's 'voice',
told the court how 'every celebration' had 'become a funeral' in the wake of
the fatal shooting three years ago.
The mother-of-three told Pretoria's High Court that 'every
single day, no day goes by where I don't think about her' as she sought the
harshest punishment for the Paralympian.
She added: 'I am coping, getting on with my life, but the
scars and the effects runs very, very deep.
'We will never get over it. But I am the mother of three
children, I have to give them hope for the future.'
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Oscar Pistorius weeps in court as Reeva Steenkamp's cousin
Kim Martin gives moving evidence about how the model's death has affected the
family during testimony at the Paralympian's sentencing for murder
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Reeva's 'voice': Miss Steenkamp's cousin Kim Martin gives
evidence at the athlete's sentencing hearing
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Mrs Martin previously told how Miss Steenkamp's shooting had
'ruined our whole family' during the runner's sentencing hearing for
manslaughter.
That conviction was upgraded to murder in December last year
and punishment for that more serious crime is now being debated at the High
Court in Pretoria.
Pistorius is facing a minimum of 15 years behind bars for
the murder of his 29-year-old girlfriend on Valentine's Day three years ago.
Mrs Martin, whose father is the brother of Reeva's father,
told Judge Thokozile Masipa how Valentine's Day was a painful time for her
family.
'It's the worst day for us,' she said.
Watched from the dock by Pistorius, Mrs Martin said 'it was
very unfair' that the one-time hero had chosen to give a television interview
rather than speak at this week's proceedings.
'I am not happy about that at all, it's very unfair to want
to talk to the world when you have had the opportunity in court to do so. It's
hurtful and I can't understand why.'
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Oscar Pistorius arrives at the Pretoria High Court for the
third day of his sentencing hearing for murder
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Pistorius faces a minimum of 15 years behind bars for
murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day in 2013
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Pistorius watched her keenly from the dock in contrast to
Barry Steenkamp whose evidence he could barely bring himself to watch.
She described the 'guilt' of her uncle Barry – who gave
moving testimony to the court yesterday – who had been left 'broken' by his
terrible loss.
'He is a broken man. He lives day to day on his phone
watching the posts about Reeva.
'He has the guilt of a father not being able to protect his
daughter. It is very difficult for him,' she told the packed court house.
She also said she first saw her own father cry for the first
time ever when he learned of Miss Steenkamp's death at the hands of the
Paralympian.
During brief cross-examination, the sprinter's lawyer Barry
Roux told Mrs Martin that although he had not subjected her uncle to
questioning he said 'there comes a point when we have to draw a line'.
He then proceeded to read from interviews close friends of
the model had given in the days and months after her murder in which they had
spoke positively about Pistorius and his relationship with Reeva.
Since then, however, the double amputee had become 'a
villain' and everyone had changed their versions, he added.
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Barry and June Steenkamp, parents of Reeva Steenkamp, arrive
for the Oscar Pistorius sentencing hearing
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He quoted from an interview with Reeva's close friend
Samantha Greyvenstein, who told a reporter: 'She told me Oscar was amazing and
he treated her like gold.
'She told me she really liked Oscar... she often mentioned
how happy she was,' the court heard.
Arguing for a reduction in the recommended 15 year sentence,
Mr Roux told the judge that there is 'substantial and compelling evidence
allowing for deviation from minimum'.
He referred to the case of a former Springbok rugby player,
Vleis Visagie, who accidentally shot and killed his own daughter, also
believing she was an intruder, did not even stand trial.
He said the case was charged with 'emotion' which meant
objective facts were being ignored.
The ranks of Pistorius's extensive family nodded keenly as
Mr Roux made an impassioned appeal for leniency from the judge, who presided
over the sprinter's seven-month murder trial.
Her application of the law in the case was later criticised
by the Supreme Court of Appeal when they overturned the manslaughter conviction
she had handed down and replaced it with one of murder.
Despite her 'flawed' ruling, the judge now has the sole
responsibility for deciding the athlete's punishment.
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Emotional: Reeva Steenkamp's father, Barry, breaks down on
the witness stand as he urges the judge to show the world pictures of his
daughter's body so everyone could see the pain Oscar Pistorius had inflicted on
her
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the North Gauteng High Court after
the second day of his sentencing hearing yesterday
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If Pistorius's lawyers regard the sentence handed down as
too severe, they are likely to launch an appeal against it.
The state also has the right to challenge a punishment they
believe to be too light.
Yesterday, Mrs Martin's uncle, Barry Steenkamp, Reeva's
father, broke down repeatedly as he also shared the impact of her murder with
the hearing.
In heart-wrenching testimony, he urged the judge to show the
world pictures of his daughter's gunshot wounds so everyone could see the pain
Pistorius had inflicted on her.
Mr Steenkamp, 72, also described how he repeatedly
self-harmed himself with this diabetes needles in order to 'feel some of the
pain' that his daughter had suffered as she bled to death.
The retired racehorse trainer broke down repeatedly in the
witness box as he laid bare the devastating impact his only daughter's death
had had on his life.
'I think of her every day of my life, morning, noon and
night, in the early hours of the morning, I think of her all the time,' he told
a sentencing hearing that will decide what punishment Pistorius will face for
killing the 29-year-old.
He described his wife June's devastation, adding that
'people say that June is 'stone-faced' but I know that June grieves like I do
all the time.
'She is probably a bit stronger, I hear her crying at night
time and talking to Reeva and of course she feels just as much as I do.'
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