Pistorius' lawyer reveals SA athlete 'not only broke but broken'

Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius' defence lawyer has revealed to the court that the double amputee athlete has no money left due to the expenses of the sentencing hearing of his murder trial.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said that Pistorius was both broke and broken after the seven-month trial. The South African athlete was convicted of culpable homicide last month after shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year on Valentines Day, but was cleared of murder.

Judge Thokozile Masipa is expected to deliver the sentence on Tuesday, The BBC reported.

There is reportedly no legal limit on the length of a jail term, but the prosecution has argued for a minimum of 10 years. Experts have said that the typical maximum sentence for the crime is around 15 years.

Pistorius' defence team has argued for him to be given community service and house arrest, a suggestion the prosecution said would be shockingly disproportionate.

Both defence and prosecution lawyers finished presenting their final arguments before the court was adjourned on Friday. The high-profile trial, which has captured public attention in South Africa and beyond, began in March.

Pistorius broke down in tears as Roux said that the athlete was once an icon in the eyes of South Africans and now could not even pay for legal expenses.

Roux said that Pistorius is not only broke but he is broken, and added that the athlete is a first offender. The defence lawyer also questioned what happened to the athlete as he was on the rise.

Roux argued that Pistorius had already suffered greatly since the death of Reeva Steenkamp and had not earned a penny since. He asked the judge to consider the South African principle of 'ubuntu', roughly translated as kindness towards others, in her sentencing.

Roux also claimed that Pistorius would be unsafe in prison, a claim denied by the prisons chief on Thursday.

The Paralympic sprinter denied murdering Steenkamp after a row on Valentines Day last year, saying that he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in the house, the report added.