A South African prison official on Monday recommended Oscar Pistorius clean a museum as punishment for shooting dead his girlfriend, sparking prosecution anger in a court weighing what sentence to give the Olympic athlete.
Defense witness Joel Maringa, a social worker in South Africa’s notoriously crowded and brutal jails, said Pistorius should not go to prison, but receive “correctional supervision” through three years of house arrest. He should also clean a Pretoria museum for 16 hours a month, Maringa said.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel described Maringa’s suggestion as “shockingly inappropriate.”
Pistorius was found guilty last month of negligently killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day last year.
The 27-year-old double amputee athlete was cleared of the more serious charge of murder.
The lesser verdict shocked the country and fueled criticism of South Africa’s legal system.
His sentencing, which began on Monday, is expected to run for most of this week.
The “Blade Runner” could face up to 15 years in prison, or could dodge a jail term altogether with a non-custodial sentence.
“We are basically saying that Oscar Pistorius should not be destroyed,” said Maringa, adding that correctional supervision would mean “he will get an opportunity to restructure and modify his behavior.”
In tough cross-examination, Nel questioned whether Maringa understood the seriousness of the crime that Pistorius had committed, after he admitted he did not have detailed knowledge of the case.
Reeva’s father, Barry Steenkamp, held his head with his hands as Maringa spoke.
It emerged during evidence that Barry Steenkamp had suffered a stroke after Reeva’s death and her mother has repeatedly collapsed on the floor in tears, their lives shattered by the tragedy.
A friend of Reeva’s, Desi Myers, expressed her disbelief at the community service suggestion.
“I don’t want to think, I don’t want to talk,” Myers said.
Maringa was one of three witnesses called by Pistorius’ defense lawyers on Monday, who are fighting to keep him out of jail.
His agent, Peet van Zyl, also testified about Pistorius’ charity work and earlier the athlete’s therapist told the court that he suffered genuine remorse after shooting Steenkamp dead.
Defense witness Lore Hartzenberg said Pistorius was virtually inconsolable during initial counseling sessions with her after he killed Reeva Steenkamp.
“Some of the sessions were just him weeping and crying, and me holding him,” Hartzenberg said. “I can confirm his remorse and pain to be genuine. I have never found him to be anything other than a respectful, caring and well-mannered person.”
She described Pistorius as a “broken man.”
Nel suggested Hartzenberg was biased in favor of Pistorius, pointing out that she once cried during the trial.
“I cried in court, I was emotional once when he was required to take off his prosthesis,” she said.
Pistorius entered the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria amid tight security for the start of the sentencing hearing. After the sentence is handed down, both the state and defense can appeal, a legal process that could drag on for years.
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