THE murder trial for Oscar Pistorius has come to a halt, after the judge has ordered the athlete to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The judge overseeing the murder trial ordered the double-amputee athlete to be assessed today, meaning that the trial proceedings will be delayed.
The decision by Judge Thokozile Masipa followed a request for a psychiatric evaluation by the chief prosecutor, Gerrie Nel.
The prosecutor had said he had no option but to ask for it after an expert witness for the defence testified that Pistorius had an anxiety disorder that may have played a role when he fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Masipa did not immediately specify the length of the psychiatric evaluation.
Pistorius says he killed Steenkamp on February 14, 2013 by mistake, thinking there was an intruder in his home.
The prosecution says the Olympic runner killed her after an argument.
Psychiatrist Dr. Merryll Vorster said events during Pistorius’ life, including the amputation of his lower legs as a baby and his late mother’s habit of sleeping with a gun under her pillow, contributed to his “increasing stress.”
“Overall, Mr. Pistorius appears to be a mistrustful and guarded person,” Vorster testified.
She said the Olympic athlete displayed “escalating levels of anxiety” through his life when she interviewed him this month.
Vorster said she also spoke to members of Pistorius’ family, some of his friends and his agent.
Pistorius’ defence said at the outset of its case that it would show his feelings of “vulnerability” and his disability contributed to him shooting Steenkamp.
Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Cross-examining Vorster at the start of the eighth week of the trial, prosecutor Nel asked if she was saying Pistorius had a mental illness and should undergo a 30-day period of observation, and if he was changing his defence to one of “diminished responsibility.”
Nel also asked the psychiatrist if someone who was suffering from an anxiety order of the kind that she had diagnosed in Pistorius, and also had access to guns, would be a danger to society. Vorster said the person would, indeed, be a danger.
Talking specifically about the shooting of Steenkamp, Vorster said Pistorius was more likely to try and “fight” what he thought was an intruder than run away, because his disability meant it was harder for him to flee.
Pistorius was on his stumps when he fired four times through the toilet stall door with his licensed 9 mm pistol, killing Steenkamp.
Source: Courier Mail
