Paralympian Oscar Pistorius lacked any real remorse for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued in aggravation of sentence in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“Real remorse would have been the accused taking the court into its confidence, telling the court why he fired those shots…so the court can accept that. We don’t have that,” Nel said.
He was referring to the fact that Pistorius had refused to testify during sentencing proceedings.
Nel said the fact that the court was still “in the dark on why he fired the fatal shots” through the bathroom door of his Pretoria home in 2013, was a “significant aggravating factor”, adding that Pistorius’s decision not to explain himself “nullifies the accused’s remorse and contrition”.
“In fact, My Lady, what the court has heard is that an accused elected to give an interview to the TV but not take this court into its confidence. That’s disprespectful to the court. It’s disrespectful to the victims of this crime. It’s disrespectful to the deceased,” Nel said, referring to an interview Pistorius granted British broadcaster ITV.
He said the interview was due to air next week.
Continuing his argument against leniency for Pistorius, Nel said the sentence imposed on the athlete should act as a deterrent to others.
“What this court can do is, in sentence, to ensure that people would not act as this accused did, arming himself…shooting an intruder…firing four shots into a small cubicle.”
Nel also argued that the interests of the victims, including Reeva Steenkamp’s family, and that of society should be considered when passing sentence.
“In this particular matter, society as large would sit back and experience, as [Supreme Court of Appeal] Judge [Eric] Leech put it “a human tragedy of Shakepearean proportions”.
Pistorius faces 15 years behind bars, unless the court finds his defence team had proved that compelling and substantial circumstances exist to warrant a lesser sentence.
The Paralympic gold medalist was originally found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to an effective five years in jail. He served one year of that sentence before being released under correctional supervision.
However, the State successfully appealed the initial conviction and the Supreme Court of Appeal then found Pistorius guilty of murder.
– African News Agency (ANA)
