Oscar Pistorius Must Be jailed, Prosecutor Argues [See More]

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said it would be shockingly inappropriate for Oscar Pistorius not to spend his life behind bars for the killing of Reeva Steenkamp.

The prosecution stated this on Friday in Pretoria as the court heard closing arguments in the athlete’s sentencing hearing.

Nel said sentencing Pistorius to house arrest instead of prison would allow him to stay in a luxurious house.

He told Judge Thokozile Masipa that “the seriousness of the crime by far outweighs the circumstances” of the defendant’s disability.

Nel stressed the heavy ammunition Pistorius used when firing at his girlfriend through a bathroom door on Feb. 14, 2013.

“Steenkamp died a horrific death with nowhere to go in a small cubicle while three bullets ripped through her body,” he said.

Nel said the society wanted the court to deal with the pain of Reeva’s family.

He accused Pistorius of having tried to influence his sentence by making monthly payments to assist Steenkamp’s parents financially over the past 18 months.

Pistorius’ lawyer, Barry Roux, had earlier pleaded for a non-custodial sentence, saying the athlete believed an intruder had put his and Steenkamp’s lives in danger when he fired the shots.

He argued that the double-amputee Olympic sprinter acted in a state of “vulnerability and anxiety”, but was subsequently “crucified” by the prosecution, media and social media which branded him as a “cold-blooded murderer”.

“The accused became a victim, and I have never seen an unfair attack on an accused in South Africa like this,” he said.

Roux, however, stressed Pistorius’ remorse for his “mistake” in killing Steenkamp.

“I have never seen an accused person as devastated as he is; he is broken, there is nothing left of this man,’’ the lawyer said.

He said the athlete did not even have the money to cover his legal expenses, and pleaded for a non-custodial sentence in a spirit of “compassion and humanity”.

He said placing Pistorius in a prison hospital ward could expose him to diseases there, and argued that the accused had been threatened by some gang leaders in prison.

Pistorius wept while listening to his lawyer, while Steenkamp’s parents sat in silence.

Masipa has wide discretion in choosing the sentence, ranging from a fine to 15 years in prison.