Prosecutor Gerrie Nel finished with his grasping-at-straws argument Friday in the sentencing hearing of Oscar Pistorius.
The Week UK reported that Nel asked Judge Thokozile Masipa for a minimum sentence of 10 years for the culpable homicide conviction against Pistorius in the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, 2013.
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Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through the couple's bathroom door in the early morning hours. He maintains that he thought she was an intruder that had entered their home. Sentencing is expected to come on Tuesday.
According to The Week, Nel was asked what he felt was an appropriate sentence for Pistorius.
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The "minimum that society will be happy with is 10 years in prison," Nel said.
Nel, however, likely also believed that "society" felt that Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder, but that was not the verdict.
In the meantime, concerns have been raised about the ability of the correctional facility that would house Pistorius and its ability to keep Pistorius safe and healthy.
According to the Guardian, Nel also argued that a monetary offer for settlement from Pistorius to June and Barry Steenkamp - Reeva's parents - didn't come until the trial was between judgment and sentencing.
"Why not earlier? Why not later," Nel asked. "It was an attempt to influence sentencing."
But if Pistorius' actions so devastated the family as Steenkamp's cousin, Kim Martin, testified for the prosecution, why did Steenkamp's parents accept monthly payments from Pistorius in response to her death?
Pistorius had paid them from March, 2013 up until last month, so it could be argued that their comments about lamenting that the premeditated murder charge did not stick also could be perceived as disingenuous.
Earlier in his closing remarks, defense attorney Barry Roux asked for a community-based sentence and restorative justice.
"The denigration, the humiliation, the ridicule, the blame, the false allegations - ongoing, worldwide - that's what he was subjected to," says Roux. "He stands there, giving evidence and crying, knowing the whole world is watching. He was absolutely exposed."
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