Pistorius has ‘to pay’ for killing Steenkamp, cousin says

PRETORIA: A cousin of slain South African model Reeva Steenkamp made a tearful plea Thursday for Oscar Pistorius “to pay” for killing her, as prosecutors sought at his sentencing hearing to see the Paralympic athlete sent to jail.
Battling tears and with her voice trembling, Kim Martin told the court in Pretoria that she was “very fearful” of the amputee sprinter and did not believe his apology for killing Steenkamp at his home last year was genuine.
“Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done, for taking Reeva’s life, for what he’s done to my uncle, to my aunt and the rest of my family,” she said. “My family are not people who are seeking revenge, we just feel that to take someone’s life, to shoot somebody behind a door, that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment.
“Everybody has suffered here, and I really think we need to send a message to society that you can’t do this and get away with it.”
Pistorius was found guilty last month of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, for shooting 29-year-old Steenkamp dead on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was acquitted of the heavier charge of murder, to some controversy. He is likely to receive his sentence Tuesday, according to a source close to the state. But with no mandatory minimum punishment, judge Thokozile Masipa will have to decide whether he deserves to go to jail or remain free.
Pistorius’s defense team has painted the “Blade Runner” as a “broken man,” wracked by guilt about accidentally shooting his lover four times with hollow point bullets, believing her to be a burglar.
They have argued the double amputee would be vulnerable in prison and should receive a community service instead.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel has slammed that suggestion as “shockingly inappropriate.” He warned that “if the court sentence is too light, and society loses trust in the court, they will take the law into their own hands.” The defense says a jail term would “break” the 27-year-old star sprinter — who inspired millions when he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes in an Olympics — and that he could fall victim to prison violence, including rape.
“Without legs he will be vulnerable and a lot more vulnerable than the normal man,” said probation officer Annette Vergeer.
The state worked to cast doubt on Vergeer’s testimony, calling acting correctional services commissioner Zach Modise to testify that South African prisons are able to provide the specialized physical and psychological care Pistorius needs for his rehabilitation. The commissioner said there are no better prisons in Africa than in South Africa, whose facilities compare “favorably” with those in Britain or the United States.