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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/jun/14/oscar-pistorius-day-two-sentencing-hearing-reeva-steenkamp
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Oscar Pistorius returns to court for day two of sentencing hearing – live | Oscar Pistorius returns to court for day two of sentencing hearing – live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.48am BST | |
| 08:48 | |
| During the break, Oscar Pistorius turns round to talk to his uncle Arnold Pistorius and aunt Lois Pistorius who are, as usual, on the bench behind him. His brother Carl Pistorius is also in court. | |
| #OscarPistorius during break OP, still looking like he's hardly slept, shares a moment with uncle and brother pic.twitter.com/y5Bn5ZSqkv | |
| 8.45am BST | |
| 08:45 | |
| Marius Nel says he would prefer not to reveal in open court the names of the schools Pistorius worked with but can provide them to the judge. | |
| Roux is finished with his questioning. | |
| Gerrie Nel asks for a 15-minute break. | |
| 8.44am BST | |
| 08:44 | |
| The pastor says he visited Pistorius “often” while he was in prison to provide spiritual care and comfort. | |
| I experienced … a man that was broken, who expressed his sorrow. | |
| I ministered to Mr Pistorius, prayed with him … and supported him. | |
| 8.43am BST | |
| 08:43 | |
| Marius Nel says Pistorius is a member of his church. Schools were interested in fitness, skills and nutrition and Pistorius was “very excited and positive about that”. | |
| The feedback from the schools were very positive … They would appreciate his involvement and it would have a great effect in the school. | |
| 8.41am BST | |
| 08:41 | |
| Marius Nel is a pastor in a church in Centurion, which runs a non-profit organisation called Bright Smiles, Bright Future focused on underprivileged children. | |
| He says the group works with the education department to reach out to underprivileged learners in an “adopt a scholar” programme, providing blankets, stationery and so on. There is also a feeding scheme for 5,000 children each day, and a medical programme. | |
| 8.38am BST | |
| 08:38 | |
| It looks as if we will get a third witness for the defence in mitigation of sentence. | |
| This is Marius Nel, a pastor. (I will try to avoid confusion with the prosecutor by calling him Marius Nel, rather than simply Nel.) | |
| Marius Nel asks not to be televised. | |
| 8.37am BST | |
| 08:37 | |
| Roux says he has no further questions for Gudmundsdottir. | |
| Gerrie Nel has only one: he wants to know how old her son is now. He is 11. | |
| The witness is excused. | |
| Updated | |
| at 8.37am BST | |
| 8.36am BST | |
| 08:36 | |
| Gudmundsdottir says her family travelled to Manchester to see Pistorius running and it was “an inspiration” for her son, who at that time was struggling with his own prostheses. | |
| Pistorius gave her son his gold medal, saying: | |
| This is for you, champion. | |
| 8.34am BST | |
| 08:34 | |
| Pistorius told her it “would be his pleasure to help us in any way”, Gudmundsdottir says. | |
| She says Pistorius wrote to her when her son was around seven months old to say he was coming to Iceland and did they want to meet him. | |
| We were of course very, very happy. | |
| Pistorius travelled frequently to Iceland because the company that made his blades (prostheses) was based there. | |
| He took a special interest in her son, she says, but also in her older daughter, who is not disabled. | |
| He made sure she was never left out. | |
| 8.32am BST | |
| 08:32 | |
| Gudmundsdottir tells the court that when she was pregnant, she found out her son would be born without legs. He was the first person to be born without legs in Iceland. | |
| She says she Googled and came across footage of Pistorius running. She contacted him. | |
| 8.30am BST | |
| 08:30 | |
| Defence counsel Barry Roux calls his witness, Ebba Gudny Gudmundsdottir. | |
| She is apparently a longstanding friend of Pistorius and is from Iceland. | |
| 8.28am BST | |
| 08:28 | |
| Court begins | |
| Judge Thokozile Masipa has arrived and the hearing starts. | |
| Today we expect to hear from the second defence witness – so far unnamed – who will testify about Pistorius’ work for charity. | |
| 8.19am BST | 8.19am BST |
| 08:19 | 08:19 |
| What happened on day one: summary | What happened on day one: summary |
| Two witnesses will speak in mitigation | Two witnesses will speak in mitigation |
| Scholtz: Pistorius should not return to prison | Scholtz: Pistorius should not return to prison |
| Further imprisonment would have a detrimental effect on him. | Further imprisonment would have a detrimental effect on him. |
| [It] would not be psychologically or socially constructive. | [It] would not be psychologically or socially constructive. |
| Mr Pistorius would be better served … if he gave back in a positive and constructive way, using his skills. | Mr Pistorius would be better served … if he gave back in a positive and constructive way, using his skills. |
| Pistorius will not testify | Pistorius will not testify |
| Scholtz: I don’t think he is able to be a witness in this trial: his condition is severe. | Scholtz: I don’t think he is able to be a witness in this trial: his condition is severe. |
| He was ‘verbally violent and aggressive’ in prison | He was ‘verbally violent and aggressive’ in prison |
| Pistorius ‘accepts he murdered Steenkamp’ | Pistorius ‘accepts he murdered Steenkamp’ |
| Nel: Did Mr Pistorius indicate to you that he intentionally shot at the door knowing there was a person in the bathroom? | Nel: Did Mr Pistorius indicate to you that he intentionally shot at the door knowing there was a person in the bathroom? |
| Scholtz: Yes … | Scholtz: Yes … |
| Nel: That’s the first version of him intentionally shooting at the person that we’ve had in this court. | Nel: That’s the first version of him intentionally shooting at the person that we’ve had in this court. |
| It’s not clear if the Steenkamps will testify | It’s not clear if the Steenkamps will testify |
| 8.08am BST | 8.08am BST |
| 08:08 | 08:08 |
| Opening summary | Opening summary |
| Claire Phipps | Claire Phipps |
| Today the high court in Pretoria reconvenes for the second day of the sentencing hearing for Oscar Pistorius. | Today the high court in Pretoria reconvenes for the second day of the sentencing hearing for Oscar Pistorius. |
| The former athlete will receive a fresh sentence after his initial conviction for culpable homicide – for which he was given a five-year prison term – was overturned by South Africa’s supreme court, which found him guilty of murder. | The former athlete will receive a fresh sentence after his initial conviction for culpable homicide – for which he was given a five-year prison term – was overturned by South Africa’s supreme court, which found him guilty of murder. |
| Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, in February 2013 when he fired four bullets through a locked toilet cubicle door in his Pretoria home. | Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, in February 2013 when he fired four bullets through a locked toilet cubicle door in his Pretoria home. |
| He served 10 months of his original jail sentence and since October 2015 has been living under house arrest conditions at his uncle’s home. | He served 10 months of his original jail sentence and since October 2015 has been living under house arrest conditions at his uncle’s home. |
| Yesterday the defence put forward its first witness, Professor Jonathan Scholtz, a clinical psychologist who testified that Pistorius was “broken” and should be in hospital rather than facing more prison time. | Yesterday the defence put forward its first witness, Professor Jonathan Scholtz, a clinical psychologist who testified that Pistorius was “broken” and should be in hospital rather than facing more prison time. |
| I’ll post a summary of Scholtz’s evidence shortly. You can read the write-up of day one from the Guardian’s Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, here. | I’ll post a summary of Scholtz’s evidence shortly. You can read the write-up of day one from the Guardian’s Africa correspondent, Jason Burke, here. |
| Comments won’t be switched on for now, but you can contact me with comments or questions on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. | Comments won’t be switched on for now, but you can contact me with comments or questions on Twitter @Claire_Phipps. |