How Brock Turner and Oscar Pistorius" defence teams tried to elicit sympathy for their clients

Oscar Pistorius sentence hearing, 15 June 2016

South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius leaves the Pretoria High Court on the second day of his pre sentencing hearing set to send him back to jail for murdering his girlfriend three years ago. Picture: Mujahid Safodien/AFP

AS OSCAR Pistorius hobbled around a South African courtroom without his prosthetic legs, tears streaming down his face, he looked like a vulnerable, broken man.

This week during his sentencing hearing, Pistorius defence team have tried to elicit sympathy from the judge by painting their client as a man who deserves leniency.

The double amputee Olympic athlete was last year convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013, and faces a minimum 15-year jail term.

On Wednesday, Pistorius defence lawyer asked his client to remove his prostheses and show the judge how difficult it is for him to walk unassisted.

Wearing sportswear emblazoned with the logos of his former sponsor Nike, Pistorius was unsteady at times, holding onto wooden desks and helped by a woman at one point. He then returned to a bench where he sat alone, head bowed, and wiped away tears. The demonstration drew gasps from some onlookers in the courtroom.

Oscar Pistorius walks on prosthetics in court as part of his defence team"s argument that he is vulnerable.

Picture: Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool Photo via APSource:AP

Picture: Alon Skuy, Pool via APSource:AP

Picture: Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool Photo via APSource:AP

I dont want to overplay disability, his lawyer Barry Roux said, but the time has come that we must just look [at Pistorius] with different eyes.

On Monday defence psychologist Dr Jonathan Scholtz argued time in prison would not be psychologically or socially constructive and that Pistorius was not a threat to society.

One would describe him as broken. In my opinion his current condition warrants hospitalisation, Dr Scholtz said.

Since 2013, he becomes traumatised when he hears the sound of gunfire He never wants to touch a firearm again.

Broken is also how convicted rapist Brock Turner described himself, after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman at Stanford University in 2015.

My shell and core of who I am as a person is forever broken from this. I am a changed person, Turner wrote in a statement submitted to a Californian court.

Former Stanford student Brock Turner appears in a California courtroom. Picture: Karl Mondon/San Jose Mercury News via APSource:AP

He blamed alcohol, college party culture and sexual promiscuity for what happened that night, and mourned the loss of his reputation.

The night of January 17th changed my life and the lives of everyone involved forever. I can never go back to being the person I was before that day, he wrote.

I am no longer a swimmer, a student, a resident of California, or the product of the work that I put in to accomplish the goals that I set out in the first nineteen years of my life.

Ive lost my ability to obtain a Stanford degree. Ive lost employment opportunity, my reputation and most of all, my life.

Both Turner and Pistorius have refused to take responsibility for their actions, never apologised, and continue to see themselves as victims. The narrative perpetuated by their defence teams is that time in jail could have no positive benefit the court of public opinion and trial by media has been damaging enough.

Brock Turners mugshot. Picture: Santa Clara County Sheriff via APSource:AP

Lorraine Finlay from Murdoch Universitys School of Law says this tactic in common during sentencing.

They focus on the defender and his personal attributes. With Turner it was the fact he was an elite swimmer and with Pistorius that he was a Paralympian, she told news.com.au.

They highlight anything in their background that makes the judge think of them as a person who deserves a second chance, rather than them being totally defined by the crime theyve committed. The problem with that is we forget about the victim.

Stunts like getting Pistorius to take his prostheses off allow the judge to see the defendant as a human, not a criminal.

Oscar Pistorius breaks down in court as he listens to testimony inside the dock. Picture: Kim Ludbrook/AFPSource:AFP

Its a real example of his vulnerability. Its one thing to write on paper This man will face heightened risks in jail, but its another to see it right in front of you.

Its important that a sentence is tailored to the individual, and in some cases convicted criminals are given a second chance if they show remorse and show a strong promise of rehabilitation.

They deserve the opportunity to be rehabilitated, said Ms Finlay. Theres nothing wrong with painting a full story of your client, but we need to make sure the full story of the victim and the reality of what happened isnt lost in the process.

But when the crime is that serious, like with Turner and Pistorius, there are limits to how far that can go. Brock Turner might be a lovely person, but he committed a horrific crime that changes his victims life forever, and you cant go back from that.

rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au

Lis Wiehi and Eric Guster examine in the details the case of Brock Allen Turner and the female rape victim. Courtesy: Fox News

Source: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/how-brock-turner-and-oscar-pistorius-defence-teams-tried-to-elicit-sympathy-for-their-clients/news-story/8a81a9eee8e73eaec1dfb4e387fbb15d