Oscar Pistorius trial: prosecution asks for psychiatric evaluation
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Version 0 of 1. The chief prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has asked for the Paralympian to be placed under psychiatric evaluation after an expert witness testified that he had an anxiety disorder. Gerrie Nel noted that a psychiatrist for the defence had testified that the disorder she diagnosed in Pistorius may have played a role in his fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home on Valentine's Day last year. Nel acknowledged that an evaluation of Pistorius's state of mind at a government facility could mean the trial, which began on 3 March, would be delayed. Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered an adjournment and said she would rule on Nel's request on Wednesday morning. Nel questioned why the defence had decided to ask Dr Merryll Vorster to testify. He suggested that the trial was not going well for Pistorius, and that his lawyers were floating the idea that a disorder contributed to Steenkamp's shooting to suggest that the athlete bore less responsibility for her death. Pistorius says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through the closed door of a toilet cubicle. Prosecutors say he killed her in anger after an argument. In asking for further evaluation of Pistorius's mental state, Nel appeared to be trying to ward off any attempt by the defence to argue that he should be treated favourably by the court because of a disorder linked to his disability. Pistorius's chief lawyer, Barry Roux, said at the start of his defence that the double-amputee's vulnerability and disability lay at the centre of his case. He said Pistorius should not be sent for a 30-day psychiatric evaluation and that he wanted to call another witness to continue testimony. Vorster met Pistorius this month, prompting Nel to question whether the timing of her late appearance as a defence witness signified a change in tactics. |