End-of-day summary
The last witnesses to speak in aggravation of sentence have finished their testimony today, as prosecutor Gerrie Nel brought this part of the proceedings to an unexpectedly early close. Friday will see both state and defence present their final arguments to Judge Masipa, who will then take a few days before handing down sentence, probably next Tuesday.
But the day’s headline news happened outside the official hearing, with Aimee Pistorius, sister of the athlete, allegedly threatened in the court room by Mikey Schultz, a self-confessed killer. He denied swearing at her, calling the Pistorius family “a bunch of liars”. But the man Schultz had come to support, Jared Mortimer, who had been expected to give evidence for the state about a nightclub run-in with Pistorius, was ultimately not called by Nel after the disturbance.
Here’s a rundown of Thursday’s key developments:
- Defence counsel Barry Roux won a concession from Zac Modise, acting national head of corrections services, that it would not be suitable to house Pistorius in a general prison wing and he should be guaranteed a placement on a hospital wing. But the defence raised concerns that there is only one resident doctor for the 7,000 inmates at Kgosi Mampuru prison, where Pistorius would be likely to serve any custodial sentence.
- Threats have been made against Pistorius by gang leaders inside prison, the defence argued. Modise argued that South African jails are the best on the continent of Africa.
- Prisons are capable of dealing with disabilities, the court heard, and Pistorius’s prosthetic legs could not be taken from him.
- Earlier, Reeva Steenkamp’s cousin Kim Martin concluded her moving testimony on the effect of the killing on her family, saying Pistorius “needs to pay for what he’s done”. She told the judge:
I’m very fearful of the accused. I have tried very hard to put him out of my mind. We’ve even made a point of not mentioning his name in my house, because I didn’t want to spend any energy thinking about him.
I really believe Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done. My family are not people who are seeking revenge. We just feel that to take someone’s life … needs sufficient punishment.
Court resumes on Friday morning at 9.30am South Africa time (8.30am BST) for closing arguments in aggravation and mitigation of sentence. We will again have live coverage throughout.
Oscar Pistorius has left court surrounded by significantly more police officers than usual:
My picture of Oscar Pistorius leaves court after the state concluded it's case in sentencing hearing.The end is near! pic.twitter.com/nkyRG97kpZ
— Milton Nkosi (@nkosi_milton) October 16, 2014
The court will reconvene tomorrow to hear final arguments from both state and defence, but it looks unlikely that we will see Judge Masipa hand down her sentence (indeed, she expressed doubt earlier that Roux and Nel would be able to wrap up their arguments by close of play on Friday).
Sentencing, then, will be delayed – but perhaps only until next week:
No sentencing tomorrow. Judge Masipa has cleared next week's diary. Clerk and assessor say Tuesday likely for the end of the #OscarTrial
— Jerome Starkey (@jeromestarkey) October 16, 2014
After two hours of consulting with potential witnesses – and having stated earlier this week that he would be calling three or four – Gerrie Nel decided not to call anyone else to the stand, having questioned only two witnesses. Why might that be? Here is snap analysis from a reporter and legal observer in Pretoria:
Prosecution must have looked at the risk of calling Mortimer, Taylor etc and decided not worth it. Roux would have had a field day.
— Mandy Wiener (@MandyWiener) October 16, 2014
Good move by Nel not to call any witnesses re Oscar's character, would've been too much dirt for defence to cross examine on. #OscarTrial
— Ulrich Roux (@ulrichroux) October 16, 2014
Nel says he hasn’t yet seen the defence’s heads of argument as it’s not been finalised; once he sees it, he will finish the state heads and submit it to the court.
Judge Masipa agrees. Court adjourns to tomorrow morning, 9.30am South Africa time (8.30am BST).
Updated
State will call no more witnesses
Nel says he has finished.
He suggests adjourning the hearing for today and reconvening in the morning for final arguments from both sides.
Nel says he and Roux have agreed they will conclude their arguments in one day.
Masipa begins with a reference to the remarks made by Roux to Nel (that he should have been sworn in as a witness for leading questions). She apologises for not dealing with it. Roux apologises and withdraws the comment.
Court resumes
Judge Masipa is back and the hearing begins again.
Is it possible that we have seen the end of the prosecution’s case?
#PistoriusTrial Yet to be officially confirmed but the suggestion is the State may not be calling any further witnesses
— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) October 16, 2014
There were suggestions that Jared Mortimer would be called today – it’s possible that the events at lunchtime have put paid to that.
Marc Batchelor and Jared Mortimer, say reporters in court in Pretoria, are now sitting in the front row of the public gallery on the Steenkamp “side”. There are also several more police officers in the room, along with justice department marshals.
#PistoriusTrial Mark Batchelor sd just before entering courtroom; We dont want revenge, we want justice.'
— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) October 16, 2014
Updated
Mikey Schultz has been talking to reporters outside the court. He says he is here only to support his friend Jared Mortimer:
We were in the same row as the Pistoriuses … They started telling me and my friend Marc, like we were dogs, we have to move.
Now there’s allegations that we threatened them … There were no threats at any time.
I didn’t say anything to [Aimee Pistorius]. She’s a liar just like her brother.
Some background on Schultz, a self-confessed killer, here.
Updated
Jared Mortimer – who could yet give evidence today – and Marc Batchelor are reportedly back in the court room, but sitting at the back now, away from the Pistorius family. Mikey Schultz is still outside court; he’s told reporters that he hasn’t been asked to leave and might return tomorrow.
Aimee Pistorius is also back in court, where the hearing is due to resume imminently.
Kim Martin, the cousin of Reeva Steenkamp, who finished her testimony earlier today, has tweeted the following message:
Tx for all the messages of support, Reeva really was with me. Lets keep her voice alive. #ReevaSteenkamp #Love.
— Kim Martin (@kimberleycpt) October 16, 2014
The apparent threats made to Aimee Pistorius in court today have cracked open the tensions between the two families:
The mutual respect between the #Pistorius & Steenkamp sides in court has now been spectacularly shattered by Mortimer & Co
— Stephanie Findlay (@SJFindlay) October 16, 2014
The men are not at the heart of the Steenkamp camp, but are friends with the Myers family, close friends of Reeva Steenkamp. Marc Batchelor was on the state witness list but did not actually give evidence earlier in the trial against Pistorius; Jared Mortimer is expected to give testimony later today about his run-in with the athlete in a nightclub.
The three men have been talking to reporters outside court, calling the Pistorius family “a bunch of liars”:
#OscarTrial Schultz and his associates tell the cameras 'Pistorius family are the victims. Always the victims'.
— Mandy Wiener (@MandyWiener) October 16, 2014
Updated
The Guardian video team has put together this clip of Kim Martin, Reeva Steenkamp’s cousin, telling the court she feels “fearful” of Pistorius:
Lunchtime summary
Extramural dramas excepted, this morning has been dominated by discussion of the merits and failings of the South African prison system, as the defence continues to push its case that a custodial sentence would not be appropriate for the disabled athlete.
Here’s a quick recap of the key developments:
- Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has said testimony and arguments will be finalised by tomorrow, increasing the chances that sentence will not be handed down until November.
- Defence counsel Barry Roux won a concession from Zac Modise, acting national head of corrections services, that it would not be suitable to house Pistorius in a general prison wing and he should be guaranteed a placement on a hospital wing. But the defence raised concerns that there is only one resident doctor for the 7,000 inmates at Kgosi Mampuru prison, where Pistorius would be likely to serve any custodial sentence.
- Threats have been made against Pistorius by gang leaders inside prison, the defence argued. Modise argued that South African jails are the best on the continent of Africa.
- Prisons are capable of dealing with disabilities, the court heard, and Pistorius’s prosthetic legs could not be taken from him.
- Earlier, Reeva Steenkamp’s cousin Kim Martin concluded her moving testimony on the effect of the killing on her family, saying Pistorius “needs to pay for what he’s done”. She told the judge:
I’m very fearful of the accused. I have tried very hard to put him out of my mind. We’ve even made a point of not mentioning his name in my house, because I didn’t want to spend any energy thinking about him.
I really believe Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done. My family are not people who are seeking revenge. We just feel that to take someone’s life … needs sufficient punishment.
The court is due to resume at 2pm South Africa time (1pm BST).
The DSTV Oscar Trial TV channel reports that the Mikey Schultz drama has spilled out from the courtroom into the street: Schultz apparently left court with Marc Batchelor (who has claimed Pistorius previously threatened to break his legs) and Jared Mortimer, who recently clashed with Pistorius in a Johannesburg nightclub. DSTV reports that the three men narrowly missed Pistorius himself – who, unusually, has left the court building for the lunch break – but stopped to take pictures with members of the Myers family, friends of Reeva Steenkamp.
My colleague David Smith reports from the high court in Pretoria that the Pistorius family has asked that Roux and Nel be consulted on an application to have Schultz barred from the hearing, so it’s likely this issue could escalate when proceedings resume this afternoon.
For the first time in seven months, Oscar Pistorius leaves the court in the lunch break. Brought traffic to a halt pic.twitter.com/icNoxSkZjn
— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) October 16, 2014
There’s a disturbance in court as the Pistorius family try to have two men – one of whom is Mikey Schultz, a self-confessed killer – moved from the benches reserved for the defendant’s family and supporters:
#OscarTrial Aimee’s concern with Schultz sitting on the bench is that it may create the impression that “they’re associated with us”. BB
— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) October 16, 2014
Hubbub w police around the #OscarPistorius family bench, after Mikey Schultz (who killed Kebble) & burly mate sat down. Aimee in tears.
— Nastasya Tay (@NastasyaTay) October 16, 2014
Pistorius family say Schultz mouthed "f**k you" at Aimee Pistorius, who is now in tears as Roux and legal team ask police for their removal
— Aislinn Laing (@Simmoa) October 16, 2014
Mikey Schultz leaves court throwing dirty, menacing look at Aimee #Pistorius, who glares back with bitter smile.
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
#OscarTrial Schultz walked out of court clearly worked up complaining that Pistorius family 'thought they owned the front row'.
— Mandy Wiener (@MandyWiener) October 16, 2014
Ugly scenes in court expose old ties and rivalries. Schultz escaped earlier murder conviction thanks to deal arranged by prosecutor Nel.
— andrew harding (@BBCAndrewH) October 16, 2014
Aimee Pistorius, sister of the athlete, is now said to have left court in tears.
Updated
Nel wants a long lunch break now to prepare a witness, but promises the judge: “We will finalise arguments tomorrow whatever happens.”
This seems to make it more likely that we will not see sentence handed down this week; given the judge’s other commitments, it could now be November before the judge delivers her decision. This is by no means certain: the state has insisted it will be this week. But this trial has been beset by pauses and delays.
Court adjourns till 2pm South Africa time (1pm BST).
I will post a summary of the morning’s proceedings shortly.
Updated
Nel is skimming over what are by now quite familiar issues: a prisoner’s right to a private medical practitioner; the ability to take a complaint to the high court if it’s not dealt with properly by prison authorities.
Then he’s finished. The witness is excused, after a quick question from Judge Masipa about training courses: she wants to know if they are mandatory.
Roux is finished with this witness. Gerrie Nel is back on his feet for re-examination.
Nel: Like any department or organisation you have people who don’t follow the rules … but you deal with that?
Modise: That is correct.
Nel: But there are many more people who are dedicated, who follow rules?
Roux objects: shouldn’t Nel be sworn in if he is going to give evidence himself? Laughter in the court (but not from Nel: “This isn’t the time for jokes”).
Now Roux turns to the risks of the hospital section:
Roux: We don't know what diseases will be exposed to? Modise: That's not fair. I don't know. #Pistorius
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Modise reiterates that Pistorius would be assessed if sentenced to prison. Roux pounces: the witness earlier said only a hospital wing would be suitable for the defendant. Now he’s saying he must go through this assessment before it is decided where he will be placed?
Modise: There’s nothing that is taken for granted on admission.
Judge Masipa intervenes: isn’t it true that the health assessment is done within six hours of admission to prison? Modise agrees this is so.
But what if the assessment doesn’t recommend Pistorius goes to the hospital wing, Roux asks: where does he go?
He will go where he is supposed to go, Modise replies. The assessment will say he needs to go to the hospital unit. Pistorius is disabled – “everyone knows that”.
Roux worries away at him: so there is no need for an assessment, he asks Modise. The witness says there has to be an assessment but he is “absolutely” sure Pistorius will be assigned to the hospital wing.
Updated
Roux turns to the question of inmates paying for their own private doctors. Such a doctor would have to drive from his or her consulting rooms to the prison, and get through the security measures, Roux says; this would take time and be expensive.
.@eNCAnews #OscarTrial "There are these things called appointments & appointments can be made for a doctor to come to a prison."
— Phakamile Hlubi (@phakxx) October 16, 2014
Roux asks about food in the hospital unit. Those well enough get it from the serving area, Modise explains; less fit patients have food brought to their beds.
Modise says he doesn’t know how many patients are in the hospital section. Seven of the individual rooms are occupied but he doesn’t know about the wards.
Roux is concerned about whether any are suffering from tuberculosis. He refers to data from the National Health Laboratory Services, which suggests thousands of prisoners across South Africa may have tuberculosis.
Modise talks through disease screening measures in the prison.
How do you get in and out of the hospital wing, Roux asks.
There are entrances, Modise deadpans.
Modise says he learned from Makgoba that the hospital has five communal wards, each with a bath and shower.
There are 22 single cells, of which seven are currently occupied. There are seven nurses during the day, and two at night.
But only one resident doctor and five psychologists for 7,000 inmates, Roux presses him.
Modisa confirms this but says there are other visiting doctors. Not all offenders need psychological services, he adds.
Court is back in session
Zac Modise, acting national head of the department of correctional services, is still on the stand, facing cross-examination by Barry Roux for the defence.
Modise confirms that during the break he was able to speak to Joe Makgoba, deputy area commissioner of Kgosi Mampuru prison, and others who are in court.
Morning recap
Reuters has filed this recap of this morning’s proceedings:
Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius needs to go to jail for the killing of his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s day last year, her cousin told a South African court on Thursday.
‘I feel we need to send a message to society that you can’t get away with this,’ Kim Martin said in her second day of testimony at Pistorius’s sentencing hearing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa cut short the previous day’s proceedings after Martin broke down on the stand, overwhelmed with emotion as she described the Steenkamps’ ‘ruined’ family life after Reeva’s death.
‘My family is not seeking revenge, but he shot someone behind a door, unarmed, harmless,’ Martin said. ‘It needs sufficient punishment.’
Pistorius’s defence has been fighting to keep the 27-year-old double-amputee out of jail, citing his disability as one reason why he should be allowed to serve any punishment outside South Africa’s notoriously violent and overcrowded prisons.
Earlier in the sentencing hearing, a defence witness recommended Pistorius serve three years of house arrest combined with community service.
Pistorius, one of the biggest names in world athletics, was last month convicted of culpable homicide – South Africa’s equivalent of manslaughter – for killing Steenkamp by firing four shots through a locked toilet door.
Pistorius said it was a tragic mistake, and that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.Culpable homicide in South Africa is punishable by up to 15 years in prison in the most serious cases, or by a suspended sentence, house arrest and community service in lighter ones.
Updated
Giving evidence, Modise suggested Pistorius could serve any custodial sentence in Kgosi Mampuru II prison, formerly Pretoria Central. The jail was renamed last year as “part of a process … aimed at turning correctional centres into places of hope and change”.
Modise told the court there is a gym at the prison, as well as a hospital unit.
Modise is now talking the court through the priorities for assigning single cells. Roux steers him: let’s only talk about the hospital wing, he says, as we agree that this is the only place suitable for Pistorius.
Roux suggests an adjournment to allow Modise to gather some extra information before questioning him on how many single cells and other facilities are available in the hospital wing.
Masipa allows the half-hour break. She also thanks the courtroom for its applause at the mention of her birthday at the start of proceedings – which earns her another burst of clapping.
Court adjourns for a tea break.
Roux: Are you aware of cases in court where inmates complain they do not get medical care, medical facilities?
Modise: Yes … I don’t think it’s a great number.
'Pistorius would need to be in hospital wing'
If there are not shower doors, there are plastic curtains, Modise tells the court.
Roux sighs. The general section is not suitable for Pistorius, he says; only the hospital section. Is that a fair assessment, he asks.
That’s a fair summary, Modise admits.
Updated
Modise confirms that vulnerable prisoners should go to the hospital section of the prison rather than the main part of the jail. There’s a bath there, Roux checks with him. In the “normal” section, there are only showers.
Roux says he’s had many calls from prison warders telling him there are no baths in the regular prison section, and there are no shower doors or they are broken. Modise concedes on the baths point but is defensive on the question of the doors; perhaps we should go and see for ourselves, Roux suggests.
The prison system has improved but is “still not where we want it to be”, Modise tells Roux.
The defence lawyer turns to correctional supervision and community service – the sentence the Pistorius team are recommending to the judge. He quotes a policy paper saying such non-custodial sentences should be considered for disabled people.
Roux reads from newspaper reports about the alleged threats to Pistorius:
This thug, calling himself ‘The General’, has been in prison for the past 33 years and is the leader of the feared 26s prison gang. Using a prison call box, this jailbird promised Pistorius hell, saying his wealth would not buy him a lavish prison lifestyle – instead he would ‘be taken out’.
‘Anyone who thinks they can come here and live like a king, will have a hit on their head. If he thinks he is going to come here and buy his way to get computers and cellphones and a lavish lifestyle, he must know that will never happen for as long as I am around.’
Roux asks Modise if he knows of any threats made against Pistorius. He doesn’t. Roux is surprised: these have been widely reported, he tells the witness. Modise reiterates: he is not aware of any threats.
Roux asks if Modise knows the head of the 26s gang - Khalil Subjee, The General. Modise confirms Subjee stabbed Clive Derby-Lewis.
— Oscar Trial Channel (@OscarTrial199) October 16, 2014
Roux mentions gang leader known as 'the general'. Laugher in court. Modise: "If you are head of a gang, you are known as 'the general'."
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Roux quotes statistics showing a rise in cases of torture in prison, from 71 to 109 last year. “There may be acts of torture,” Modise concedes.
There was an increase in assaults by prison staff as well, Roux says. Modise says this is down to the need to take control of gang culture in certain institutions, St Albans and Manguang.
Roux reads from yesterday’s Star newspaper saying that Modise had come under fire in parliament for an increase in jail rape and torture cases.
#PistoriusTrial Modise is squirming now. He's rubbishing the Wits Justice Project which investigates prison injustice
— Alex Crawford (@AlexCrawfordSky) October 16, 2014
Modise says the Wits project is run by two journalists being fed unverified information by certain prison officials:
Their objective is to write anything that is negative, sourced by themselves.
Updated
Adamantly, Modise is telling the court there should be “no doubt in the mind of South Africans” that Pistorius’s disabilities could be catered for in prison.
Nel is finished with this witness. Defence counsel Barry Roux is on his feet now for cross-examination.
Modise says he has visited prisons all over the world and there are three things that are common in all: gangsterism, drugs and sharpened objects.
Overcrowding in South African jails is down from 63% to 31%.
Pistorius single cell would have a loo, basin, a towel, a sheet for his bed and a cupboard for his private belongings, Modise adds.
— Aislinn Laing (@Simmoa) October 16, 2014
Modise adds that a full inspection of South African prisons was carried out before the extradition of Shrien Dewani from the UK, and they passed.
Dewani is currently on trial in Cape Town for the murder of his wife Anni on their honeymoon.
Nel moves on to how prisons cater for disabled inmates. Modise says the testimony of defence witness Annette Vergeer that jails lack facilities such as shower rails is “incorrect”.
He agrees with Nel that pictures taken in a prison yesterday clearly show shower rails and baths available to inmates.
Modise says South African jails deal with 128 disabled prisoners on a daily basis, ranging from blindness to paraplegia. Suitable accommodation is provided, he says.
Nel asks if Pistorius’s needs could be catered for.
Modise: should it be the decision of this court to send him to Kgosi Mampuru, I assure you we will be able to accommodate him.
Nel: And treat him humanely during his period of incarceration?
Modise: Absolutely … He shall be treated properly.
South African jails are the 'best in Africa'
Modise: In the continent of Africa, there are no better facilities than those that we have in our country.
He says South African jails compare favourably with those in the UK and New York.
Modise is certainly painting a very positive picture of South Africa’s jails. We can probably expect the defence to take issue with this when Roux gets his opportunity to cross-examine:
Prison population too MT @AlexCrawfordSky: This description of life in #SA prisons may surprise most of the country's population
— Nastasya Tay (@NastasyaTay) October 16, 2014
Modise: I can assure this court the Department of Correctional Services are dealing with the issue of gangsterism.
He says gangs are not created in prison – some inmates come in as gang leaders.
He confirms that single cells or a place in a hospital unit are ways to mitigate the risk of gang violence.
Modise says he asked a prisons official to visit a local facility, and confirms that official is in court today.
He then runs through the various psychological services available in prison. Again, prisoners are able to use their own private therapists, at their own cost.
Nel continues his questioning of Modise, designed to show that – as the prosecutor put it yesterday – the court would be doing Pistorius a favour by sending him to prison:
Modise: We provide Anger management, life skills, substance abuse, marriage and family counselling, formal education, skills development.
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Modise: There are sports and recreation facilities. We have offenders that are taking part in athletics, soccer, rugby, boxing. #Pistorius
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Modise talks through the health assessment that takes place within six hours of admission to prison. It includes assessment of social, psychological and spiritual needs, and caters for different vulnerabilities, he explains. That assessment determines where the prisoner is placed.
The witness confirms that Pistorius’s prosthetic legs could not be taken from him without written instruction.
He then runs through the prison complaints system: officials have to deal with inmates’ complaints every day, and there are also independent assessors.
Modise is running through the various assessments that take place when an individual is sentenced to prison. A health assessment is carried out within six hours of admission to jail, he says.
He confirms that if an inmate wanted his own private medical practitioner, that would be possible, at the prisoner’s own cost.
Nel is slowly picking his way through the objections raised by the defence to imprisoning Pistorius:
Nel: Is it possible to keep a specific inmate at a hospital? Modise: Correct. Nel: Accommodate in single cells? Modise: Correct.
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Nel: So there will be facilities in the country that will be able to deal with every kind of offender? Modise: "That's correct." #Pistorius
— Aislinn Laing (@Simmoa) October 16, 2014
Modise tells the court that the corrections department offered to send someone to Pretoria to give a response to the criticisms of prisons raised by the Pistorius defence.
Modise says he was involved in the Jali commission, charged with remedying “inhumane conditions” and “rampant corruption” in prisons.
Modise on next job: I was sent to put measures in place to ensure there was compliance with legislation and "the human rights of offenders".
— David Smith (@SmithInAfrica) October 16, 2014
Nel is running through Modise’s career and experience in correctional services.
As a public servant, Modise is shown on television; most witnesses are heard but not shown on screen.
New witness takes the stand
The next witness is Moleko Zac Modise, from the department of correctional services, where he is the acting national commissioner.
Nel confirms with Modise that only yesterday he presented a report in parliament, and told parliament that prisons are “ready to admit and detain people with disabilities in our facilities”.
Updated
Roux tells the court that Pistorius “desperately” wants to apologise privately to the Steenkamp family.
Kim Martin is excused.
Roux now tells Martin that Pistorius wrote many apologetic letters to June and Barry Steenkamp, parents of Reeva, after the shooting but was advised by lawyers not to send them.
He asks if she has spoken to Pistorius. She has not.
Barry Roux is questioning Martin now.
He says Martin testified yesterday that Steenkamp spent Christmas alone. In fact she had dinner with Pistorius, Roux tells her. Martin accepts this could be true.
'Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done'
Kim Martin is standing in the witness box and continues her testimony, questioned by Nel.
He asks her about Pistorius’ public apology to the family of Reeva Steenkamp. Martin says she did not feel it was genuine or sincere.
How does she feel about Pistorius now, Nel asks her.
Martin: I’m very fearful of the accused. I have tried very hard to put him out of my mind. We’ve even made a point of not mentioning his name in my house, because I didn’t want to spend any energy thinking about him.
This is not easy for me … I really believe Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done. My family are not people who are seeking revenge. We just feel that to take someone’s life … needs sufficient punishment.
I was very worried when I was under the belief that prison conditions would be bad for prison. When I discovered that his rehabilitation process in the prison would be humane … I feel Mr Pistorius needs to pay for what he’s done … to my family but also what he’s done to his family
We need a message to society that you can’t do this.
With that, Nel is finished with this witness.
Updated
Court hearing begins
Judge Masipa has entered the court room and we are about to start.
(Today is the judge’s 67th birthday, incidentally. Gerrie Nel begins by wishing her a happy birthday, to applause from the court.)
Oscar Pistorius is in court and the hearing is due to start very shortly.
Oscar Pistorius arriving at the Pretoria high court #OscarPistoriusTrial pic.twitter.com/mPz7qJGwBG
— Ben Makori (@MakoriBen) October 16, 2014
Yesterday, Judge Thokozile Masipa said she wanted this sentencing hearing to be concluded by tomorrow, as she has other judging commitments from next week. This could mean she will hand down sentence on Pistorius on Friday. However, some South African court observers think we could be in for a longer wait:
#OscarTrial considering Masipa’s engagements for the next three weeks, we’re looking at the sentence being handed down in November. BB
— Barry Bateman (@barrybateman) October 16, 2014
Updated
Reeva Steenkamp’s cousin Kim Martin is in court already, to resume her testimony from yesterday. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel indicated on Wednesday afternoon that he did not intend to question her much further; defence counsel Barry Roux also stated he had only two questions for her in cross-examination. So we could move on to the next state witness fairly promptly.
There is speculation that Patricia Taylor, mother of Pistorius’ ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor and author of a recent book about the athlete, Oscar: An Accident Waiting to Happen, could give evidence. She is in court in Pretoria this morning and reporters say she has brought a friend with her “for support”.
Here’s my colleague Rebecca Davis on what we know about Taylor:
Trish Taylor, as she prefers to be known, is the mother of Oscar Pistorius’s ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor. Pistorius and Sam Taylor’s tumultuous relationship began in 2011 – when Taylor was still a high school student –and lasted for about a year and a half, depending who you ask. Sam Taylor testified against Pistorius during his murder trial, and claimed on the stand that the relationship ended because ‘he cheated on me with Reeva Steenkamp’.
Trish Taylor has been a part of the Pistorius trial narrative since writing on Facebook on the day of Steenkamp’s shooting: ‘I am so glad that Sammy is safe and sound and out of the clutches of that man’ – an opinion leapt upon by journalists desperately seeking to make sense of bewildering events at that stage.
In September 2014 Taylor released Oscar: An Accident Waiting To Happen, an account of her daughter’s relationship with Pistorius co-authored with a South African journalist. The book – which was written before the trial’s outcome but which could not be released prior to the verdict for legal reasons – paints a picture of Pistorius as moody, volatile, self-involved and philandering.
Morning round-up
Welcome to live coverage of the fourth day of the hearing to determine what sentence Oscar Pistorius will receive for the two charges of which he was found guilty last month: the culpable homicide of Reeva Steenkamp and illegally discharging a firearm in a crowded restaurant.
Yesterday’s proceedings ended on a highly emotional note as Kim Martin, the victim’s cousin, took to the stand to be “Reeva’s voice” in describing how the loss has affected her family. She will return to the stand this morning for some final questions from prosecutor Gerrie Nel, before facing cross-examination from defence counsel Barry Roux, who will surely tread carefully with a witness who was openly distressed during her earlier testimony.
Here’s a recap of Wednesday’s key developments:
- Nel has assured the judge that he intends to wrap up his questions for his “three or four” witnesses by this afternoon, which – given the judge’s other commitments in coming weeks – suggests sentence will be handed down on Friday.
- Kim Martin broke down as she told the court she had heard the news of the shooting on the radio while driving to work on 14 February 2013:
Then [the radio DJ] said: ‘Oscar Pistorius’ … and the minute he said his name I jumped in the front seat and I froze. And the next words were: ‘allegedly shot his girlfriend’. And I said to my husband, ‘I hope to god he’s cheating on Reeva.’
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In moving testimony, Martin told the court about Reeva Steenkamp, who she said was a hard worker, a fun-loving and nurturing person, who supported her parents financially. She said the loss of her cousin had ‘ruined our whole family’. After breaking her back in a horse-riding accident after studying for a law degree, Steenkamp had pursued a modelling career because ‘life can be over so quickly’.
- Lawyers for June and Barry Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp’s parents, clarified details of the payments made to them by Oscar Pistorius since their daughter was killed. They say the R6000 monthly payments will be repaid and the Steenkamps will not pursue a civil claim against the athlete. Barry Roux, for Pistorius, told the court that his client did not want the money back and had given it “without conditions”.
- Nel vigorously sought to undermine the picture painted by defence witnesses of a violent, overcrowded prison system in which Pistorius’s disabilities would not be catered for. There was not “the slightest possibility” that Pistorius’s prostheses would be confiscated, he told the court. The Department of Correctional Services has issued a statement calling the defence claims “inaccurate”. Nel is likely to call a witness today to testify to this.
You can catch up on the key issues in the sentencing process here:
- What sentence could Pistorius receive?
- What sentence is expected?
- What happens at the sentencing hearing?
The Guardian’s David Smith will be in the courtroom in Pretoria and you can read his tweets @SmithInAfrica. I’ll also be tweeting breaking news and key developments @Claire_Phipps. David’s report on Wednesday’s court hearing is here, and yesterday’s live blog is here.
Today’s court hearing is due to start at 9.30am South Africa time (8.30am BST).
