Oscar Pistorius sentencing: Athlete has 'lost everything' defence claims

The Paralympic athlete is ‘not only broke but broken’ court hears

Oscar Pistorius in the dock during sentencing procedures at the High Court in Pretoria

Oscar Pistorius’s chief defence lawyer has claimed the Paralympic athlete has “lost everything” since killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

In the fifth day of the sentencing hearing, lawyer Barry Roux said that Mr Pistorius had “not earned a penny” since fatally shooting Miss Steenkamp, that he had lost his sponsors, and that he no longer has enough money to cover his legal costs.

“He’s not only broke, but he’s broken. There is nothing left of this man,” Mr Roux said.

Mr Roux told Judge Thokozile Masipa to take in account Mr Pistorius' state of mind when he shot Miss Steenkamp into his sentence.

Miss Steenkamp was killed when Mr Pistorius shot her through the toilet door of his home, believing her to be an intruder.

“The accused’s actions were to some extent dominated by vulnerability and anxiety,” Mr Roux told judge Masipa in his closing statement.

The athlete cried at one point as he sat on a wooden bench behind his lawyer, who claimed there was “no deviousness” and “no conscious unlawfulness” in the actions of Mr Pistorius when he killed Miss Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.

The defence is calling for a three year sentence of occasional house arrest, community service, and no jail time, arguing that Mr Pistorius would be under particular duress due to his disability and fragile mental state following the killing of Miss Steenkamp.

The prosecution is calling for Mr Pistorius to serve 10 years in jail.

Chief prosecution lawyer Gerrie Nel has called the possibility of Mr Pistorius being kept under house arrest as “shockingly disproportionate”.

He said in his closing statement that the bullets fired by the athlete had “ripped” through Miss Steenkamp’s body, adding: “When I think about that, it must have been horrific.”

“The deceased died in a small cubicle behind a closed door. Three bullets ripped through her body,” he said, referring to where the model was shot in the head, arm and hip.

"The minimum term that society will be happy with will be 10 years imprisonment," Mr Nel said.

"This is a serious matter. The negligence borders on intent. Ten years is the minimum."

The sentence hearing has now been adjourned until Tuesday.

Additional reporting by PA