Questions over Pistorius image as trial nears end

South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius (left) talks with a friend (center) and his lawyer Brian Webber at the end of his sentencing hearing at the High Court in Pretoria on October 13, 2014. Pistorius’ charitable work was scrutinised Tuesday by the prosecution, as it tries to show that he deserves to go to jail for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. FILE PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

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

PRETORIA
Oscar Pistorius’ charitable work was scrutinised Tuesday by the prosecution, as it tries to show that he deserves to go to jail for killing his 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.

Mr 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 Mr 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.

Mr 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.

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

On Tuesday, proceedings began with Mr Nel’s cross-examination of Mr 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.

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.

EXTREMELY BROKEN
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.

“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.