Oscar Pistorius has removed his prosthetic legs in court as part of his defence lawyer’s final remarks at his sentencing hearing.
The athlete, who is facing a 15-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, cried and blew his nose as he demonstrated his limited movement without them.
Pistorius’s defence team is arguing that the double-amputee is a vulnerable man who deserves leniency when he is sentenced.
Sky’s Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, who is at the court in Pretoria, said: “He goes from being a fully grown, fit looking man, to suddenly being incredibly vulnerable, someone who you can push over with a hand.
“That’s what he (lawyer Barry Roux) wanted to show. I think that will play very heavily with the judge.
“Immediately afterwards, you could see the lawyer also emphasised that Oscar Pistorius would not like it, and he clearly did not like it.”
Mr Roux was presenting his final arguments to Judge Thokozile Masipa at Pistorius’ re-sentencing hearing.
He said there were “substantial and compelling circumstances” that allowed the judge to deviate from the minimum term of 15 years in prison for murder in South Africa.
Mr Roux’s plea followed testimony from Kim Martin, a cousin of Ms Steenkamp, who accused Pistorius of not giving the “true version” of the shooting.
She also criticised Pistorius for not giving evidence at the hearing but agreeing to a TV interview that will be shown after the hearing ends.
“I think it’s very unfair to want to talk to the world about your version when you had the opportunity in court to do so,” Ms Martin said under questioning from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
