This Article is From Oct 13, 2014

Court Hears Oscar Pistorius Has 'Genuine Remorse'

Court Hears Oscar Pistorius Has 'Genuine Remorse'

Oscar Pistorius (file photo)

Pretoria, South Africa: Oscar Pistorius's therapist told a sentencing hearing on Monday that the star sprinter suffered genuine remorse after shooting dead his girlfriend, as lawyers fought to keep him out of jail.

Defence witness Lore Hartzenberg told a South African court that Pistorius was virtually inconsolable during initial counselling sessions after he killed Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013.

The 27-year-old double amputee was last month found guilty of negligently killing the photogenic model.

But he was cleared on a more serious charge of murder, a verdict that shocked the country and fuelled criticism of South Africa's legal system.

"Some of the sessions were just him weeping and crying and me holding him," said Hartzenberg, the first witness called by Pistorius lawyers to mitigate against a prison sentence.

"I can confirm his remorse and pain to be genuine," said Hartzenberg "I have never found him to be anything other than a respectful, caring and well-mannered person."

She described Pistorius as a "broken man."

Pistorius entered the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria amid tight security for the start of the sentencing hearing, which is expected to run for most of the week.

The "Blade Runner" could face up to 15 years in one of South Africa's notoriously brutal prisons or could dodge a jail term altogether with a non-custodial sentence.

The defence team is expected to argue that the country's prisons are not suited for his disability and that the 2012 London Paralympics silver medallist deserves leniency as a first time offender.

Hartzenberg did not testify during the trial.

"My attitude from the outset was that I was Mr Pistorius's therapist, and that I was not going to become involved in the merits of the case," she said.

During her cross-examination, the court heard that Steenkamp's father had suffered a stroke after her death, and her mother has repeatedly collapsed on the floor in tears, their lives shattered by the tragedy.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel suggested Hartzenberg was biased in favour 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 admitted.

'Oscar's remorsefulness'

Lawyer David Dadic -- who is not involved in the case -- said the defence will "heavily expand on their trial argument regarding Oscar's remorsefulness".

"The biggest factor, however, which the defence will raise is, of course, the fact that Oscar is a first time offender," he added.

In turn, the state will call witnesses to testify on why he should serve the stiffest penalty, raising the issue of his history of negligence with firearms.

After the sentence is handed down, both the state and defence can appeal, a legal process that could drag out for years.

In September, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled the athlete did not knowingly shoot to kill the 29-year-old model and law graduate.

The sprinter admitted he fired four hollow point bullets through a locked toilet door in his upmarket Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine's Day, but said he believed he had been shooting at a burglar.

Masipa's ruling outraged many South Africans, including lawyers who believed she misinterpreted the definition of murder, and questioned whether the justice system is failing the crime-plagued country.

Pistorius is currently out on bail of one million rand ($90,000).

He had to sell his posh house inside a gated compound in Pretoria, the scene of the crime, to fund the cost of the trial, and has withdrawn from competitive sport since his arrest.

The trial, which began on March 3, was broadcast live on television and radio, feeding insatiable local and international media interest.

The athlete cut a lonely figure in the dock, at some points sobbing and retching loudly while testifying.
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