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The 29-year-old Paralympian gold medalist faces a minimum
15-year jail term for the 2013 killing of his girlfriend Reeva
Steenkamp, for which state prosecutors say he has shown no
remorse.
Pistorius, who sat with his head in his hands during the third
day of sentencing hearings, says he mistook Steenkamp for an
intruder when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door
in his Pretoria home, killing her almost instantly.
The lower part of the athlete's legs were amputated when he was
a baby, and he is known as "Blade Runner" for the carbon-fibre
prosthetics he wore when racing.
Pistorius lawyer Barry Roux asked his client to walk in the
court on his stumps to show the difficulty he faced while
dealing with the threat of an intruder.
His body shaking with emotion, Pistorius then removed his
prosthetics and stood on his stumps for five minutes in front of
the court television camera, wiping tears from his face with a
tissue.
"The accused was vulnerable because of his disability," Roux
said, asking for a non-custodial sentence that included
community service.
In response, prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked the court to display
photos of Steenkamp's bloodied head and torso after the
shooting.
The victim's father Barry Steenkamp said on Tuesday Pistorius
must pay for his crime and asked the court to show pictures of
his daughter's body as a deterrent to would-be killers.
The case has prompted a fierce debate in a country beset by high
levels of violent crime against women and still dealing with the
legacy of decades of apartheid race-based rule.
Some rights groups have said Pistorius, a wealthy white man, has
received preferential treatment.
(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by
Ed Cropley)
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