Pistorius' 'caring' image questioned

14 October 2014 Last updated at 12:50

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LIVE: Day two of Oscar Pistorius' sentence hearing

The prosecution in the Oscar Pistorius case has scrutinised his charity work, as it tries to show he deserves jail for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

On the second day of the athlete's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the main motive of the work was to further his career.

Pistorius was found guilty of the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp last month - but was cleared of murder.

The defence is trying to show prison would be an inappropriate punishment.

It produced a second witness to say Pistorius's mental state would deteriorate and his disability would be a problem in jail.

On Monday, the prosecutor was angered by a call for the sentence to be house arrest and community service.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel labelled the suggestion as a "shockingly inappropriate" punishment.

Pistorius faces up to 15 years in jail, although Judge Thokozile Masipa may suspend the sentence or impose a fine.

She said the athlete had acted negligently when he shot his girlfriend through a toilet door, but had genuinely thought her to be an intruder.

The sentencing hearing is expected to last several days, with lawyers for Pistorius hoping they can prevent a jail sentence.

Honorary doctorate

Proceedings began with Mr Nel's cross-examination of Pistorius's manager Peet Van Zyl.

At Tuesday morning's session, Mr Nel tried to show that the athlete's honorary doctorate at the UK's Strathclyde University was for his achievements "from a young age", rather than recent charitable work.

Mr Van Zyl had said that the doctorate was for the athlete's support for prosthetic limb development, but Mr Nel said there was no mention of that in the citation.

And he suggested to Mr Van Zyl that sportsmen often took on charity work for pragmatic reasons.

Later the prosecutor questioned whether Pistorius used his own funds to pay for prosthetics for disadvantaged young people, but Mr Van Zyl insisted that money earned for speaking which he asked to be paid not to himself but to charity was his own funds.

He also asked whether Mr Van Zyl had discussed future plans with the athlete, to which he replied that everything depended on the outcome of the trial.

Joel Maringa, a prison service officer summoned by the defence

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Probation officer Joel Maringa said Pistorius should get three years house arrest

Defence counsel Barry Roux then continued the line of questioning about Pistorius's motivation for his charity work.

The athlete's manager said that while he had contractual obligations to his sponsors, he was always available for them and never complained.

He also made himself available on other occasions and "went the extra mile" for disabled children, Mr Van Zyl added.

The BBC's Andrew Harding says Mr Nel has been trying to show Pistorius as an obedient, self-interested, corporate client rather than a selfless charity volunteer.

The prosecutor has reminded the court that the relationship between celebrity, charity and business is a quid pro quo, but it is not clear that he has done any more than that, our correspondent adds.

He says the judge's verdict suggests that Mr Nel's aggressive style may not work with her.

The next defence witness was Annette Vergeer, a probation officer who said she was working in a private capacity.

Reading out what she said was an objective report, she said Mr Pistorius should receive a suspended sentence, community work, therapy, and correctional supervision.

Prison would punish him in a way that was not constructive, Ms Vergeer said, adding that he was "extremely broken" and would "only deteriorate" there.

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In 60 seconds: Key developments in the trial of Oscar Pistorius

"It is virtually impossible in prison to teach a person how to become a useful member of society, as there is no opportunity to practice these skills," she said.

"There is also no facility to cater for the accused's disability."

She said he had showed what she believed to be sincere grief and regret at the crime scene, and subsequent depression.

The Paralympic sprinter had denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine's Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets shot through a toilet door by Pistorius at his home in the capital, Pretoria.

Inside Oscar Pistorius's home

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Mr Pistorius said he and Ms Steenkamp had dinner at about 19:00 before going to bed at 21:00. He said he woke in the early hours, spoke briefly to his girlfriend and got up to close the sliding door and curtains.
Judge Thokozile Masipa questioned the reliability of several witnesses who said they heard screams and gunshots between about 03:12 and 03:17, saying most had 'got facts wrong'.
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Mr Pistorius said he heard the bathroom window sliding open and believed that an intruder, or intruders, had entered the bathroom through a window which was not fitted with burglar bars.
Mr Pistorius said he grabbed his firearm and told Ms Steenkamp, who he thought was still in bed, to call the police.
The judge said it made no sense that Ms Steenkamp did not hear him scream 'Get out' or call the police, as she had her mobile phone with her.
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Mr Pistorius could see the bathroom window was open and toilet door closed. He said he did not know whether the intruders were outside on a ladder or in the toilet.
He had his firearm in front of him, he heard a movement inside the toilet and thought whoever was inside was coming out to attack him.
'Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door,' he said.
The judge said she did not accept that Mr Pistorius fired the gun by accident or before he knew what was happening. She said he had armed himself with a lethal weapon and clearly wanted to use it. The other question, she said, was why he fired not one, but four shots before he ran back to the room to try to find Ms Steenkamp.
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Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bedroom and noticed that Ms Steenkamp was not there.
Mr Pistorius said this was when he realised she could have been in the toilet and rushed back to the bathroom.
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Mr Pistorius said he screamed for help and went back to the bathroom where he found the toilet was locked. He returned to the bedroom, pulled on his prosthetic legs and turned on the lights before bashing in the toilet door with a cricket bat.
When the door panel broke, he found the key and unlocked the door and found Ms Steenkamp slumped on the floor with her head on the toilet bowl. He then carried her downstairs, where he was met by neighbours.