Pistorius faces term in hospital wing if sentenced to prison

Oscar Pistorius will be committed to the hospital wing of one of South Africa's toughest prisons if the double amputee Olympic track star is sentenced to jail time for killing his girlfriend, the head of the prison service said yesterday.

On the fourth day of Pistorius’s sentencing hearing, Zach Modise, who has worked in the prison service for 35 years, was questioned by the defence about conditions at Pretoria Central Prison, a likely destination for Pistorius because of its disabled facilities. The prison is where dozens of black activists were executed by South Africa’s apartheid government before the handover of power to Nelson Mandela in 1994.

It is also the home of apartheid death-squad leader Eugene de Kock, known as “Prime Evil”, and is notorious for its vicious gang culture. Beatings, male rape and murder cases have been reported there in South African media.

However, Modise said the reality of the prison was a long way from the perception. He added that Pistorius’s disability – his lower legs were amputated as a baby – would mean he was kept in a separate wing.

Facilities for disabled

Pressed to give details of the prison’s facilities for the disabled, Modise conceded there was only one resident doctor for every 7,000 inmates. He added that Pistorius would have access to a cell of his own.

On Tuesday, probation officer Annette Vergeer, testifying for the defence, said prison would “break” Pistorius because of his disability and psychological problems. The defence has been fighting to keep the 27-year-old out of prison, citing his disability.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide for the negligent killing of law graduate Reeva Steenkamp last year. The offence is punishable in South Africa by up to 15 years in prison. State and defence will present final arguments today, after which Judge Thokozile Masipa will consider her judgment. – (Reuters)