Justice Thokozile Masipa, who was expected to announce the sentence at Oscar Pistorius’ sentencing hearing on Friday in Pretoria, adjourned until Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Gerrie Nel, the prosecutor at Oscar Pistorius’ sentencing hearing, said the athlete should spend at least 10 years in prison for killing Reeva Steenkamp.
Nel said it would be shockingly inappropriate for Pistorius not to spend time behind bars.
Nel told the court that sentencing Pistorius to house arrest instead of prison would allow him to stay in a luxurious house, unless he wants to train or go to church and then be so kind as to do community service for two hours a week.
He said the seriousness of the crime by far outweighs the circumstances of the defendant’s disability.
Nel stressed the heavy ammunition Pistorius used when firing at his girlfriend through a bathroom door on February 14, 2013.
Steenkamp died a “horrific death” with “nowhere to go” in “a small cubicle” while “three bullets ripped through her body,” he said.
“Society wants the court to deal with the pain of Reeva’s family,” he added.
He accused Pistorius of having tried to influence his sentence by making monthly payments to assist Steenkamp’s parents financially over the past 18 months.
Pistorius’ lawyer, Barry Roux, had earlier pleaded for a non-custodial sentence, saying the athlete believed an intruder had put his and Steenkamp’s lives in danger when he fired the shots.
Roux, however, stressed that Pistorius’ remorse for his mistake in killing Steenkamp.
“I have never seen an accused person as devastated as he is,” he said.
“He is broken, there is nothing left of this man,” the lawyer said, adding that the athlete did not even have the money to cover his legal expenses.
The 41-day trial of Pistorius – the first double-amputee to compete against able-bodied sprinters when he appeared at the 2012 London Olympics – ended on August 8.
It was followed closely around the world.
