14 DAY TRIAL // Sprint runner and Paralympics champion Oscar Pistorius is currently on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot back in February 2013.
This Wednesday, the athlete's defense lawyer, Barry Roux, introduced the court to a report saying that, following the death of his girlfriend, Oscar Pistorious is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD for short).
Besides, information shared with the public says that, according to this report, the athlete's PTSD is so bad that the psychologist who assessed the Paralympics champion's condition believes him to be at risk of committing suicide.
Defense lawyer Barry Roux presented this report hoping to convince the court that his client is in dire need of special care and that, unless his condition is properly managed, things might soon take a turn for the worse.
“The degree of anxiety and depression that is present is significant, he is also mourning the loss of Miss Steenkamp,” the psychiatric evaluation that Barry Roux presented in court this Wednesday reportedly reads.
“Should he not receive proper clinical care, his condition is likely to worsen and increase the risk for suicide,” the psychologist who conducted the evaluation went on to write in the report, as cited by Time.
Neither the defense nor the prosecution have until now rejected this report. In fact, word has it that they plan to use it to make their case. More precisely, the prosecution sees it as proof that the athlete can tell the difference between right and wrong and can, therefore, be held accountable for his crime.
The defense, on the other hand, expects the report to convince the court that Oscar Pistorius is not a violent man and that the death of his girlfriend a little over a year ago was no more and no less than a terrible accident.
The cold hard facts of this case boil down to this: in February 2013, Oscar Pistorious shot and killed his girlfriend, 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp. However, the defense and the prosecution have very different explanations concerning why this happened.
Thus, the defense maintains that the Paralympics champion merely mistook the woman for a burglar and shot her looking to protect himself. The prosecution, on the other hand, is convinced that the murder was deliberate and followed a heated domestic dispute.
Should the prosecution manage to convince the court to see things its way, Oscar Pistorious risks being sentenced to spending at least 25 years behind bars. More so since, according to an earlier report, the athlete was not suffering from any mental disorder at the time he killed Reeva Steenkamp.
For those unaware, Oscar Pistorious found himself competing in the Paralympics after, when he was just 11 months old, both his legs were amputated below the knee. Despite the fact that he now relies on artificial limbs, the athlete has been given permission to take part in able-bodied competitions.