Oscar Pistorius Trial: Live Stream and Latest News on Track Star's Sentencing

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 15

Reeva Steenkamp's cousin, Kim Martin, reduced the court to tears on Wednesday as she described how Oscar Pistorius "ruined our family" when he shot and killed his girlfriend on Feb. 13, 2013.

Pistorius' defence team finished delivering its argument for why Judge Thokozile Masipa should hand down a lenient sentence for the crime of culpable homicide. A three-year period of correctional supervision—rather than prison—has been recommended.

However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel called Martin to the witness box to portray the vast damage Pistorius has done to the family. Nel warned the court on Wednesday of the public outcry a lenient sentence would encourage. You can watch and follow live updates below as the trial continues (subject to territory):

Nel began Wednesday's session by resuming his questioning of probation officer Annette Vergeer, after Vergeer had recommended house arrest for Pistorius due to the appalling conditions of South African prisons.

Nel instantly attacked Vergeer's report, saying it was based on poor research, as noted by EyeWitness News' Barry Bateman and Sky News' Alex Crawford:

Nel pointed out that Vergeer's report is based almost exclusively on how the punishment will affect Pistorius. He reminded the court of the main point of a court sentence:

The prosecuting lawyer then turned Vergeer's report against her. The report alludes to Pistorius' lack of funds, and his need for psychological aid, so Nel combined the two to advocate a prison term:

Nel also warned Judge Masipa of the unwanted consequences of a lenient punishment in this case:

Nel then used the ongoing Shrien Dewani case as proof that South African prisons are good enough to receive an inmate of Pistorius' nature:

Vergeer was finally excused, at which point the State introduced its first witness. Reeva Steenkamp's cousin, Kim Martin, was called to the stand.

Martin began by recalling the moment she heard the breaking news emerging from Feb. 13, 2013:

Martin revealed the effect Pistorius' actions have had on her personally, as well as her children:

The witness then recalled her first meeting with Pistorius, a lunch date with he and Reeva. Martin told the court that Reeva left her with a comment that haunts her to this day:

Court adjourned until Thursday.

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 14

Pistorius' agent Peet van Zyl returned to the witness stand to begin Tuesday's session, having listed on Monday the many charities his client had supported throughout his career.

Prosecutor Nel instantly attempted to downplay this positive character portrait, though, insisting Pistorius did everything for personal gain—as noted by Sky News' Alex Crawford:

Nel made it an extremely tetchy experience for Van Zyl, who attempted to show Pistorius has been punished enough by the many financial opportunities he has lost.

Nel forced the agent to confess Pistorius is the only person responsible for the loss of these contracts, per Crawford and EyeWitness News' Barry Bateman:

Van Zyl attempted to suggest inaccurate reporting by the media was partly to blame for Pistorius losing his contracts post-Feb. 13, 2013, the night he shot Steenkamp.

Nel poured scorn on the agent's belief that people would still have looked up to Pistorius after the incident, had the media not ruined his reputation:

Van Zyl also pointed to a charity event, which saw Pistorius donate his fee, as an example of his desire to do good in the community. However, Nel once again appeared to tear down the positive image:

Defence lawyer Barry Roux attempted to repair the damage, leading Van Zyl to show Pistorius' actions were selfless at times: 

Van Zyl was finally excused, bringing the defence team's fourth and final witness—probation officer Annette Vergeer—to the stand. Vergeer instantly claimed her report is neutral, free of defence or state influences.

The witness revealed Pistorius has offered a financial sum to the Steenkamps. Vergeer also agreed with Maringa's recommendation for a three-year house arrest, citing the appalling conditions of prison as a reason to spare Pistorius jail time:

Nel took his chance to cross-examine Vergeer, reminding her that a section of the judgment record notes Pistorius "clearly wanted to use his firearm." 

Nel reminded the court that it must take into account the degree of negligence in a case of culpable homicide. According to Bateman, Vergeer's report had not done so, and Nel's line of questioning led to a frustrating lack of answers:

Following an adjournment for lunch, Vergeer revealed Pistorius has been paying the Steenkamp family 6,000 South African rand (approx. £350) per month. Pistorius also offered 375,000 rand to the Steenkamps, but Bateman provides the reply from Reeva's mother June:

Nel then forced Vergeer to concede that there are prisons equipped to receive disabled inmates, contrary to the negative picture she had earlier painted: 

As a final point of the day, Nel referred back to Vergeer's suggestion that prison isn't a place for a man of Pistorius' disability.

Nel suggested to the witness that her stance surely protects all disabled individuals from a prison sentence, regardless of the crime:

Court adjourned until Wednesday.

Updates from Monday, Oct. 13

Sky News' Alex Crawford confirmed the identity of Monday's first witness and gave an indication of how long the week's sentencing can be expected to last:

Dr Hartzenberg has worked with Pistorius for the past 18 months and described the clear anguish he displayed in the aftermath of Steenkamp's death.

Hartzenberg's evidence was aimed at helping the defence to show he has suffered enough, noted by BBC News' Andrew Harding and Sky's Crawford:

Prosecutor Nel then began, in typically aggressive fashion, to cross-examine Dr Hartzenberg. He was quick to point out, as noted by EyeWitness News' Barry Bateman among others, that Pistorius isn't the only one suffering as a result of his actions:

Nel also totally refuted the suggestion that Pistorius has lost earning potential, before he turned to reports that the track star already has a new girlfriend. He quizzed the witness on whether they had discussed the topic during their one-to-one sessions.

As highlighted by Nel, such an important development—whether true or not—would surely have cropped up and become an important element in how Pistorius was treated: 

At that point Dr Hartzenberg left the witness box, replaced by the day's second witness, as noted by Bateman:

Maringa recommended that Pistorius should be handed the punishments of house arrest and correctional supervision, rather than prison, for his role in Steenkamp's death.

He listed the following reasons: 

Nel's turn arrived to examine Maringa, and he immediately exposed that the witness had not read the full trial judgement and is therefore in no position to recommend punishment: 

Nel then attacked the suggested three-year correctional-supervision punishment:

Moving at a rapid pace, a third witness was then called, as noted by Crawford: 

Van Zyl began by listing the many charities Pistorius has helped over the years, building a positive character portrait for the defence.

He also referred to several major contracts Pistorius had lined up for post-Feb. 13, 2013, all of which were cancelled after the events of that evening. At that point, Nel called for adjournment until Tuesday in order to examine Van Zyl's documents.

Original Text

The "Blade Runner," known as such due to his prosthetic legs, faces up to 15 years in prison, despite being found not guilty of murder, reported by David Smith of The Guardian. Culpable homicide is the South African equivalent of manslaughter, the act of unintentionally, yet unlawfully killing someone.

However, his defence team will hope to successfully argue that Pistorius should serve no incarceration whatsoever.

Masipa's decision to clear Pistorius of murder has already led to the family of the deceased saying "justice was not served," per Smith. The same writer also noted "an impact statement" is likely to be read out from Steenkamp's parents, increasing the emotion of an already difficult trial.

"She died a horrible death, a horrible, painful, terrible death and she suffered, you know? I can't believe that they believe that it was an accident," said June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, upon hearing Pistorius was cleared of murder, reported by Faith Karimi and Richard Allen Greene of CNN.

Pool/Getty Images

Legal arguments and testimony are expected to take place across the coming days, per BBC News. Considering Masipa has already stated Pistorius acted "negligently," but also with "the belief that there was an intruder," it's likely the 27-year-old could get away with a lenient sentence. The remorse he has shown in court only aids this potential outcome.

Masipa could also suspend the sentence or impose a fine, taking into account that Pistorius has no history of such incidents.

Smith previously called the case "the ultimate exercise in transparent justice" due to its revolutionary broadcasting across the world.

Alon Skuy/Associated Press

He notes the millions of viewers but also how defence lawyer Barry Roux confirmed a number of witnesses wouldn't speak due to fear of having their voices heard across the globe, a situation which could lead to grounds of an appeal. The trial has continued to grab headlines since it started in March, tweeted by Jeremy Thompson of Sky News:

"

SA Star headlines from #PistoriusTrial as sentencing starts here in Pretoria. All on@SkyNews @AlexCrawfordSky pic.twitter.com/kCD6bkQrnb

— Jeremy Thompson (@JTSkyNews) October 13, 2014"

The remainder of the trial is likely to conclude across four days. A drawn-out case is finally set to come to a conclusion, albeit at the mercy of Masipa, whose decision will be made without a jury.