DAY 44: SENTENCING BEGINS Oscar Pistorius’s sentencing process, began on Day 44 of the Oscar Pistorius Trial. A month ago Pistorius was found guilty of culpable-homicide in relation to the killing of Reeva Steenkamp. The defence team called psychologist and trauma counsellor Dr Lore Hartzenberg to the stand. She testified that she has given Oscar grief and trauma counselling for the last 18 months and that he is a “broken man” who has lost his career, many of his friends and his identity and voice. She also said that Oscar feels very guilty about the loss of Reeva Steenkamp, worries about her family and longs for her as with Reeva he thought he had found ‘the one’. She concluded he suffers from post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) and that the media and the televised trial coverage have caused further trauma with negative public opinion affecting Oscar. Under cross-examination, Advocate Gerrie Nel grilled Hartzenberg on how the Steenkamp family could have been processing their grief and asked her why her report was not broader. He also challenged her finding that Oscar had lost his career and love of his life, commenting that he had resumed training and could well love someone in future. Nel asked Hartzenberg about the incident reported in the media about Oscar having been involved in a brawl at a Sandton nightclub in July this year. She said she was aware of an incident that was captured on CCTV but this behaviour was in line with PTSD symptoms. Court has adjourned until 11h15.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 09:07:48 +0000
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