Where is the trial at?

Oscar Pistorius’s trial resumes today after being adjourned for a month when Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered that Pistorius take a psychiatric evaluation.

The assessment will determine whether Pistorius can be held accountable for shooting his girlfriend, or whether anxiety could have influenced his actions.

Pistorius’s anxiety

Oscar Pistorius has been very emotional during the trial. Source: AAP

The trial was adjourned after a psychiatrist testified in defence of Pistorius, claiming that his anxiety disorder could have contributed to Reeva Steenkamp’s killing.

In evidence, the paralympian said he felt vulnerable because of his disability, with both his legs amputated at the knee.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel demanded an independent evaluation in Pistorius’s mental health, fearing that his defence would argue Pistorius was not guilty because of mental illness, according to a Fairfax report.

What evidence?

Pistorius claims that he shot Steenkamp through his bathroom door because he thought she was an early-morning intruder and felt vulnerable without his prosthetic legs.

Text messages between the pair were shown in March, with Steenkamp claiming that she was scared of Pistorius and was worried that he would “snap”.

Several neighbours of Pistorius’s took the stand, with one claiming that she heard people arguing for around an hour before the shooting and that the shouting kept her awake.

Reckless gun use

Oscar Pistorius has a history of reckless gun use. Source: Sky News

The defence is capitalising on Pistorius’s history of reckless gun use, with previous gun related charges against him for firing a gun in a crowded restaurant and firing a gun through the roof of his car.

A ballistics expert also argued that Steenkamp was standing in a defensive position in the bathroom when she was shot.

What happens now?

In South Africa, the mandatory sentence for murder is life in prison, or 25 years.

Legal experts say that if found to be suffering from a mental illness, Pistorius would be considered “mentally incapacitated” and could possibly receive a reduced sentence.

According to an ABC report, Pistorius would be committed to a psychiatric hospital where he would be held until is it found that he is no longer a danger to society.

Once Judge Masipa has heard the findings from Pistorius’s psychiatric evaluation, the defence will call on any remaining witnesses before closing arguments and Masipa’s verdict.