Oscar Pistorius sentencing: Athlete convicted of Reeva Steenkamp's murder could be back in prison within 24 hours

Pistorius returns to court on Wednesday to be sentenced for murder

Oscar Pistorius arrives at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria (Reuters)

On Wednesday, Oscar Pistorius could find himself back inside a prison cell, and this time for a considerably longer stretch than his first.

The former Paralympic athlete will appear in North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, to be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate and model, four times through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Reeva Steenkamp at an award ceremony (Getty)

The 29-year-old was released from prison in Pretoria in October under house arrest after serving just under one year of his five-year sentence. His original conviction for culpable homicide was upgraded following an appeal to South Africa's Supreme Court.

He has been on bail awaiting sentencing at his uncle’s home in Pretoria. A conviction for murder carries a minimum 15-year sentence in South Africa.

Judge Thokozile Masipa has heard evidence for the first time from Ms Steenkamp’s father Barry about the impact of his daughter’s death. In his emotionally charged testimony, Mr Steenkamp described how he thought about how Ms Steenkamp had died every day and said Pistorius must “pay for what he did”.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a recluse, but I can’t really mix with people anymore. I sit on my veranda, at two, three o’clock in the morning," he told the court. ”I smoke my cigarettes and drink my coffee.

“June [Steenkamp, his wife] has forgiven him so that she can carry on with her life. But I feel the same, that Oscar has to pay for what he did. He has to pay for it.”

Pistorius’ defence counsel has argued there would be “no purpose served” in returning Pistorius to prison and stressed his vulnerability because of his disability. In one of the most dramatic moments of sentencing proceedings, Pistorius walked across the courtroom without his prostheses.

The televised "trial of the century" captivated the world, something his legal team claims damaged Pistorius. "No other accused has ever had to endure this level of publicity, misinformation and character assassination," his lawyer Barry Roux has argued.

Pistorius himself has argued that Ms Steenkamp would not want him to waste his life behind bars when he could use it to help others less fortunate. In his only televised interview ten days before sentencing, he told ITV: “I would like to believe that if Reeva could look down upon me that she would want me to live that life.”

Legal experts say Pistorius may not receive the maximum sentence because of factors such as his disability.