Tearful Oscar Pistorius takes stand: 'I'm scared to sleep'

Getty Images/Pool

Tearful Oscar Pistorius takes stand: 'I'm scared to sleep'
(Image credit: Getty Images/Pool)

After a week break, the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius resumed today with the disgraced former Olympian taking the witness stand and speaking out for the first time since last year's shooting. He apologized to Reeva Steenkamp's family for the "pain, sorrow, and emptiness" he caused them and reiterated his defense that he accidentally shot Steenkamp, his girlfriend and popular South African model, after mistaking her for an intruder.

"I wake up every morning and you're the first people I think of, the first people I pray for," said Pistorius in a trembling voice. "I can't imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I've caused you and your family." The double-amputee faces life in prison if convicted of murder. He told the court that he had been on anti-depressants and sleeping pills that caused him to be in a disturbed state of mind.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.