{{LONDON}} \u2014 {Urging that Oscar Pistorius should be jailed for killing his girlfriend, a cousin of the victim sobbed as she told the court in South Africa on Thursday that the Olympic and Paralympic track star had \u201cto pay for what he has done.\u201d}<\/p>\n
But on the fourth day of televised hearings to determine a sentence, the country\u2019s prison system also seemed to be on trial, as the defense questioned its ability to accommodate disabled people like Mr. Pistorius, a double amputee since infancy.<\/p>\n
Kim Martin, the cousin of the victim, Reeva Steenkamp, fought back tears and her voice shook as she told Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa in Pretoria that she was \u201cvery fearful\u201d of Mr. Pistorius. \u201cI believe Mr. Pistorius has to pay for what he has done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Oscar Pistorius in a courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday, the third day of the track star\u2019s sentencing hearing.Payments by Oscar Pistorius Take Center Stage at HearingOCT. 15, 2014
\nOscar Pistorius on Tuesday during the second day of his sentencing hearing in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa.For Oscar Pistorius, Question of Prison Looms at Sentencing HearingOCT. 14, 2014
\nOscar Pistorius, who was found guilty last month of killing his girlfriend, returns to court on Monday for a sentencing hearing.At Oscar Pistorius\u2019s Sentencing Hearing, Descriptions of a \u2018Broken Man\u2019OCT. 13, 2014
\nLast month, Judge Masipa convicted Mr. Pistorius, 27, of culpable homicide \u2014 equivalent to manslaughter \u2014 in the killing of Ms. Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate and model, on Feb. 14, 2013. But the judge acquitted him of more serious murder charges.<\/p>\n
The penalty for culpable homicide can range from a fine to 15 years in jail. The defense has urged that Mr. Pistorius be sentenced to house arrest.<\/p>\n
The athlete has admitted to firing shots through a locked toilet cubicle door that killed Ms. Steenkamp, but he says he mistakenly believed that an intruder had entered his home.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family are not people who are seeking revenge,\u201d Ms. Martin testified for the prosecution. \u201cWe just feel that to take someone\u2019s life, to shoot somebody behind a door, that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, “We need to send a message to society that you cannot get away with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerrie Nel, the chief prosecutor, also called Zach Modise, the acting head of South Africa\u2019s correctional services, to testify that the country\u2019s prisons \u2014 depicted by the defense as overcrowded, harsh and unhealthy environments dominated by criminal gangs \u2014 were equipped for disabled people, offering single-cell accommodation, vocational training, health care, sports facilities and gyms.<\/p>\n
Mr. Modise acknowledged that there were gangs \u201ctrying to take over\u201d prisons but said that correctional officers had developed a strategy to try to curb their power. Under cross-examination by a defense lawyer, Barry Roux, Mr. Modise said a hospital wing would provide the most suitable accommodation in prison for a disabled person.<\/p>\n
Asked to provide statistics for the Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria, Mr. Modise said it had 7,000 inmates, one doctor and five psychologists. He declined to guarantee that Mr. Pistorius would be housed in a hospital wing if sentenced to a prison term.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that\u2019s taken for granted on admission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Judge Masipa later adjourned the trial until Friday for final arguments by the defense and prosecution lawyers, who can both appeal the sentence she hands down. She did not say when she would decide on Mr. Pistorius\u2019s punishment.<\/p>\n
New York Times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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