At Oscar Pistorius' Sentencing Hearing, Descriptions of a 'Broken Man'

London: Oscar Pistorius, the disabled South African athlete found guilty a month ago of killing his girlfriend, returned to a Pretoria courtroom on Monday as his lawyers began a new struggle with prosecutors over the severity of the sentence he should face.

Seeking leniency from Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa, Pistorius' defense team called witnesses who described him as "a broken man" and said his punishment should be limited to house arrest and community service - penalties described by the prosecution as "shockingly inappropriate."

And, as throughout the trial, the latest hearings revolved around the dual persona depicted by the defense and the prosecution: on one hand, a remorseful, contrite figure traumatized by his own actions; on the other, an egotist who snuffed out an innocent life.

Pistorius, 27, was acquitted in early September of more serious murder charges in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, a law graduate and model. If convicted of premeditated murder, the runner - a Paralympic star who had competed against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics in London - would have faced a mandatory minimum jail term of 25 years.

But Masipa found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, after he admitted shooting Steenkamp, 29, to death.

Pistorius depicted the killing as a mistake inspired by the belief that an intruder had entered his home on Feb. 14, 2013. By his own account, he fired four rounds from a handgun through a locked toilet cubicle door, only to discover Steenkamp's bloodstained body inside.

The prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, said Pistorius killed her deliberately after a quarrel, but Masipa rejected the prosecutor's argument. Her decision left the prosecution smarting and likely to press for a harsh punishment while the defense argues for leniency. Both sides will be able to appeal her decision.

Masipa has discretion over possible punishments ranging from a fine to a 15-year prison term. Nel said Monday that he would call more than one witness to the hearings. Asked by the judge if he would need more than a week, Nel replied, "I hope not."

The lead defense lawyer, Barry Roux, said he would call four witnesses, beginning with Dr. Lore Hartzenberg, the athlete's personal psychologist, who said that flashback images of the shooting would always be with Pistorius. He has been found to have post-traumatic stress disorder.

After the killing, he was in "a spiral of grief without resolution," Hartzenberg said, and "directed anger and blame towards himself."

"I can confirm his remorse and pain to be genuine," she said. "We are left with a broken man who lost everything." Her testimony was broadcast live, but only the audio, and only after she, like several other witnesses during the trial, requested not to be shown on television.

Hartzenberg's evidence was seemingly intended by the defense to buttress its case that, as a first-time offender who has shown remorse and suffered deep psychological scars, Pistorius should receive a light sentence and should not go to prison.

But Nel challenged her depiction of his plight.

"We are dealing with a broken man, but he is still alive," he said. "He can still pursue his career and more."

Joel Maringa, a state correctional services officer testifying for the defense, said Pistorius should be sentenced to three years of house arrest and be obliged to carry out community service as a cleaner for 16 hours a month during that period.

"We are basically saying he should not be destroyed," Maringa said.

Nel called the suggestion "shockingly inappropriate" after the killing of Steenkamp.

The defense testimonials to Pistorius' character continued with an appearance by his manager and agent, Peet van Zyl.

"I have yet to meet a more accommodating, humble person who would always go out of his way to make other people feel at ease," he said as he chronicled the athlete's philanthropic work.

At the request of Nel, the hearings adjourned early until Tuesday.

Masipa's verdict last month stirred wide and sometimes angry debate, with some critics saying that Pistorius should have been found guilty of more serious murder charges.

The case has fascinated many who had seen Pistorius' track achievements as an emblem of a broader human resolve to overcome physical challenges. Born without fibulas, the athlete, nicknamed the Blade Runner for the scythe-like prosthetics he used to compete, lost both legs below the knee in a double amputation at the age of 11 months.

But, 20 years after the formal end of apartheid, the hearings also confronted many South Africans with worrisome questions about the nature of justice in a society still riven by racial distinctions and suspicions among the black majority that wealthy whites enjoy preferential justice.

The trial opened in March and was initially set to last three weeks. Through moments of high drama and frequent delays, the trial has offered an iconoclastic vision of a black female judge presiding over a courtroom in which the defendant, most witnesses and the legal counsel were all white men.