Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has arrived at a psychiatric hospital in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, for the start of his mental evaluation.







The judge at his murder trial has ordered that his mental state be assessed by health experts as an outpatient for up to 30 days.







It comes after a defence witness said the double amputee was suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (Gad).







Pistorius denies intentionally killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.







The Olympic and Paralympic track star says he accidentally shot her through the toilet door on Valentine's Day last year in a state of panic, mistaking the 29-year-old model and law graduate for an intruder.







Pistorius arrived before 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) at Weskoppies psychiatric hospital, where he will be assessed for seven hours.







He will have to do this every weekday for the next month; the court's proceedings are not set to resume until June 30.







Three psychiatrists and a clinical psychologist are to determine whether his state of mind and disability had an effect on him when he shot Ms Steenkamp.







Judge Thokozile Masipa said they would "inquire into whether the accused by reason of mental illness or mental defect was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible for the offence as charged".







She said the team would decide whether he was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act".







The panel of experts is also expected to interview some of Pistorius' family members, South Africa's eNCA broadcaster reports.







The prosecution had argued the tests were essential after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster, who diagnosed the athlete with Gad, told the court he was "a danger to society".







The defence vigorously opposed the move.







via nigerianeye

0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Top