In what easily could be considered the second trial of Oscar Pistorius, the prosecution suffered another pair of setbacks that are adding to what could be a Pistorius' sentence will gravitate toward leniency.
News.com out of Australia reported that a self-confessed hitman allegedly mouthed the words, "f--k you to Pistorius' sister Aimee. She began to cry, security was called and all parties were summoned to the Judge's chambers.
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According to news.com, the hitman, Mike Schulz, told reporters outside the court that he did not say a word to Aimee Pistorius.
Then in another strange twist, prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court he needed an extended lunch break to consult with his final two witnesses - which news.com reported were to be Trish Taylor, the mother of former Pistorius girlfriend Samantha Taylor, and Jared Slater, the other man involved in an alleged altercation at a nightclub in Johannesburg during the original trial in July.
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But after lunch, Nel abruptly announced he had no more witnesses.
In September, Judge Thokozile Masipa found Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of Steenkamp on Feb. 14, 2013. When she scheduled sentencing for Oct. 13, it was assumed that she would deliver a verdict that day.
Instead, both sides basically have retried their cases now on what sentence is appropriate for a culpable murder charge.
During that time, Oscar Pistorius' defense team successfully has made public that Steenkamp's parents were receiving monthly payments from him and questions exist whether South Africa's prison system can keep the double-amputee sprinter safe.
Nel had Moleko Zac Modise, the acting National Commissioner for Correctional Services in South Africa, testify that Pistorius would be sent to the hospital section of the prison, which hosts 22 single cells. But upon cross-examination Modise could not specify the types of illnesses suffered by prisoners in the hospital section or how many contracted tuberculosis.
Now, the question is whether a three-year house arrest sentence for Pistorius, plus 18 months of community service would be better than a stay in a prison hospital.
The prosecution, meanwhile, has failed to produce anything substantial in court.
The idea of keeping a convicted killer out of prison because of the dangers of that prison seems to be far-fetched, but the very nature of the court system in South Africa has raised several questions as a result of the case.
The lone judge being responsible for the verdict and sentence, and hearing arguments about the sentence after the verdict was reached begs the question as to why Masipa had to hear additional testimony when she already had six months to ponder evidence that was produced in court.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a sentence is unlikely to come Friday after the defense and prosecution make their final arguments.
And of course, Masipa likely would take time to consider this latest decision, the WSJ reported, pushing an announcement back to early next week.
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