Oscar Pistorius' tears and anxiety following the killing of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp "appeared to be genuine," his probation officer has said.
On the second day of the athlete's sentencing hearing in Pretoria, watched by his father Henke and Ms Steenkamp's mother June, Annette Vergeer said Pistorius was sorry and heartbroken at what had happened.
He had accepted responsibility for the death of Ms Steenkamp, she said, highlighting his apology to her family. Prison "would not assist him but break him" she said, adding that "a broken person would be introduced back into society".
Ms Vergeer, at times fanning herself while in the witness box, said Pistorius would "carry a heavy load for the rest of his life" as a result of the killing and that he did not appear to be "such a danger to society that he needs to be removed" with a prison sentence.
However, prosecutor Gerrie Nel attempted to pull apart her evidence by taking her to task over her knowledge of prisons, suggesting she gave evidence on issues she knows little about.
Pistorius was also portrayed as a "poor victim" by prosecutor Mr Nel, who attempted to diminish the body of charitable works presented by the runner's agent Peet Van Zyl the day before.
The athlete arrived at the North Gauteng High Court without his usual phalanx of police or family minders, while Judge Thokozile Masipa appeared in court flanked by six armed guards, a move described as highly unusual by legal commentators.
Mikey Schultz, whom South Africa's media has described as a self-confessed 'hitman' was also in court watching proceedings.
Pistorius, 27, was cleared of murdering his former girlfriend but found guilty of culpable homicide - the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.
He was also found guilty of discharging a firearm in public, an offence relating to him firing a gun in a restaurant.
The double-amputee Olympian could receive a fine and a suspended jail sentence or as many as 15 years in prison for the convictions.
The prosecution are pushing for him to serve a prison sentence for the killing, while his defence team submit he should serve no more than house arrest or community service.
Reporting from outside court, Sky's Alex Crawford said: "Yesterday was very much the defence day and his team spent the whole day trying to paint a picture of a man who had spent a huge amount of his time doing charity work and that prison was not the place for him.
"His agent said he wanted to give something back to society if he was allowed to and the social worker for the Correctional Services Department suggested that community service would be a good punishment."
There is a suggestion some of Ms Steenkamp's friends, including a possible former girlfriend, may also be called upon to testify, this time for the prosecution.
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