Sobbing Pistorius deserves 10 years in jail, insists prosecution

Oscar Pistorius solemnly hugged his lawyer Barry Roux today and then sat down alone in court as the defence and prosecutions teams finished their closing arguments of his sentencing hearing. The Paralympic athlete sobbed through parts of the final day as Mr Roux claimed the runner “lost everything” after shooting dead his girlfriend. Pistorius has admitted killing Reeva Steenkamp and said he mistook her for an intruder, thinking he and the model were in danger. Mr Roux said Pistorius had lost his sponsors, lost all his money and had not got enough to pay for legal expenses following the tragedy.

He will have to live with the excruciating pain which will never go away.

Oscar Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux

He argued the disabled runner should not be sent to prison but put under house arrest under correctional supervision - community service. However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued he should be jailed for a minimum of 10 years. Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned the court in Pretoria, South Africa, until next Tuesday when she will hand down her punishment. Mr Roux said Pistorius was an icon, in the eyes of South Africans, who had “lost everything”, “has not earned a penny” since the shooting and “is broken”. However, Mr Nel insisted society may lose their trust in court if Pistorius was not jailed for killing the model who died a “violent” and “horrific” death.

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