Battling tears and with her voice trembling, Kim Martin told a sentencing hearing that she was ‘very fearful’ of the South African star sprinter and did not believe his apology for killing her cherished cousin was genuine.
‘Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done, for taking Reeva’s life, for what he’s done to my uncle, to my aunt and the rest of my family,’ she said.
‘My family are not people who are seeking revenge, we just feel that to take someone’s life, to shoot somebody behind a door, that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment.
‘Everybody has suffered here, and I really think we need send a message to society that you can’t do this and get away with it.’ Pistorius has been found guilty of manslaughter for shooting Steenkamp dead on Valentine’s Day 2013.
He could be sentenced as soon as Friday, but with no mandatory minimum sentence, Judge Thokozile Masipa will have to decide whether he deserves to go to jail or stay free.
Pistorius’s defence team has painted the ‘Blade Runner’ as a ‘broken man’, racked by guilt about accidentally shooting his lover four times with hollow point bullets, believing her to be a burglar.
They have argued the double amputee would be vulnerable in prison and should be punished by community service.
The defence has warned that a jail term would ‘break’ the star sprinter and that he could fall victim to prison violence, including gang rape.
‘Pistorius needs to pay for what he has done, for taking Reeva’s life, for what he’s done to my uncle, to my aunt and the rest of my family,’ she said.
‘My family are not people who are seeking revenge, we just feel that to take someone’s life, to shoot somebody behind a door, that is unarmed, that is harmless, needs sufficient punishment.
‘Everybody has suffered here, and I really think we need send a message to society that you can’t do this and get away with it.’ Pistorius has been found guilty of manslaughter for shooting Steenkamp dead on Valentine’s Day 2013.
He could be sentenced as soon as Friday, but with no mandatory minimum sentence, Judge Thokozile Masipa will have to decide whether he deserves to go to jail or stay free.
Pistorius’s defence team has painted the ‘Blade Runner’ as a ‘broken man’, racked by guilt about accidentally shooting his lover four times with hollow point bullets, believing her to be a burglar.
They have argued the double amputee would be vulnerable in prison and should be punished by community service.
The defence has warned that a jail term would ‘break’ the star sprinter and that he could fall victim to prison violence, including gang rape.