
(ATR) A psychiatric assessment of Olympian Oscar Pistorius found the athlete was not mentally incapacitated when he fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp.
The results of the assessment were revealed to the court on Monday when the Paralympic gold medalist's trial resumed following a month-long suspension for the evaluation.
An independent panel of doctors concluded Pistorius did not suffer from a mental defect or mental illness at the time of the shooting that would have "rendered him criminally not responsible of the offenses charged."
The report added that the double-amputee was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act."
On May 20, Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled that further tests were needed on the embroiled Olympian to support testimony of an anxiety disorder.
Ifthe doctors had deemed Pistorius mentally incapacitated during the shooting, the trial would have promptly ended in a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness.
The prosecution and defense both told the Pretoria High Court they accept the report's conclusions.
The defense then resumed its case, calling Pistorius' orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gerald Versfeld to the stand as well as acoustics expert Ivan Lin.
Telegraph reporter Andrew Marszal says Lin was called to explain the "contradicting accounts" from neighbors of Pistorius, who claim to have heard male and female screams at the time of the shooting.
"The act of listening is an intellectual event," Lin testified. "Typically, one can differentiate a male and female scream, but one cannot say reliably, without exceptions."
The trial resumes Tuesday with the prosecution's cross-examination of Lin.
On March 3, the Pistorius pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder and a firearms charge associated with Steenkamp's killing. If convicted, the Olympic sprinter faces 25 years in jail.
Written byNicole Bennett
For general comments or questions,click here.
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics isAroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.

Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.

Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.

Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
