South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius, who is facing trial in Pretoria, one of the capital cities in South Africa, for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will not be able to use mental illness as his defense after psychiatric assessments concluded that he was not suffering from mental illness when he shot Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.
The prosecution claims that Pistorius killed his 29 year old model girlfriend in a jealous rage after the two had an argument. However, Pistorius, a double amputee who has competed in events for both amputees and able-bodied athletes, said that he shot his girlfriend through the locked door of a toilet when he mistook her as an intruder who had entered his home.
In May, forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, who testified as a defense witness, said that Pistorius had a general anxiety disorder which was caused by series of traumas that began when his legs were amputated at 11 months old, when he lost his mother when he was 15 years old and when he was estranged from his father at 21 years old and this has likely led to the killing incident. General anxiety disorder is characterized by tension, nervousness and chronic worrying.
The testimony on Pistorius' mental health led to the suspension of the murder trial in mid-May as the 27-year old Olympic athlete went through psychiatric evaluation at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital to establish whether or not he was criminally liable for killing Steenkamp.
The trial resumed on Monday after the physical assessments showed that he was not suffering from serious mental impairment at the time of the murder and was aware of the wrongfulness of what he had done.
"At the time of the alleged offences, the accused did not suffer from a mental disorder or mental defect that affected his ability to distinguish between the rightful or wrongful nature of his deeds," says the report that was submitted to the court and read aloud by Prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
Had Pistorius' psychiatric assessment found that he had serious mental health problem during the shooting, the murder trial could have abruptly ended in a not-guilty verdict due to insanity and he would have been committed to a state mental association.
Pistorius, who is currently on bail, faces 25 years in prison if he is found guilty of premeditated murder albeit he could have a shorter sentence for negligent killing or murder without premeditation.
