‘Broken' Pistorius breaks down in court

PRETORIA. KAZINFORM - In dramatic scenes on the third day of his sentencing hearing, disgraced Paralympian Oscar Pistorius walked without his prostheses as his attorney argued he was a vulnerable figure who should receive a lesser sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Defense lawyer Barry Roux asked the Paralympic gold medalist to remove his prosthetic legs and stand in front of the court while describing the events of the night of Valentine's Day 2013 when his client shot Steenkamp dead through a bathroom door in their home. Pistorius has said he thought an intruder was in the bathroom, CNN reports.

After a few minutes, Pistorius, who had changed out of his suit and into shorts and a T-shirt, had to kneel and started weeping in the court Wednesday.

Murder carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa, but the defense is trying to secure a lesser sentence by arguing there are mitigating factors, including Pistorius' physical and emotional disabilities.

"He suffers from an anxiety disorder. We know that uncontested evidence that when he was on his stumps, his balance was seriously compromised, and without anything he won't be able to defend himself," Roux said.

Pistorius was not wearing his prostheses at the time of the shooting, and Roux painted a picture of a fearful man on his stumps, trying to protect a loved one.

"He was anxious, he was frightened. ... He was suffering from anxiety disorder, and that's not gone," Roux said. "This must all be seen in context of his disability."

The lawyer added it was "understandable that a person with disabilities such as that of the accused would certainly feel vulnerable when faced with danger." He said that Pistorius' disability also means he would face a harder time in jail.

Roux told the court that the "real facts" of the case had become clouded by false perceptions about the killing and Pistorius.

"Some people refuse to sit back and look at the objective facts," he said.

He insisted that Pistorius had believed Steenkamp was in bed, that an intruder was behind the bathroom door, that he had not intended to kill the target and that he had attempted to save Steenkamp's life.

Pistorious, a first-time offender, has paid financially and emotionally for his actions, and will punish himself all his life for what he did, Roux added.

Read more