The man trying to add 10 years to Oscar Pistorius' current prison term sentence sympathizes with the 'Blade Runner's' plight, a Pistorius acquaintance says.
Jaco Van Vuuren, a pole vault coach in Pretoria, South Africa who served as the court room sketch artist during Pistorius' original murder trial in the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, says that lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel has a compassionate side for Pistorius, the Guardian reports.
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Van Vuuren met Pistorius when the double-amputee sprinter was 16 and training at the University of Pretoria. Van Vuuren considers himself Pistorius' friend, and the 43-year-old sketch artist talked about some moments during the original Pistorius trial, in which Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and is serving a five-year prison sentence.
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Nel, however, earned the right to appeal that verdict last month and hopes to convince a five-judge appeals panel to change Pistorius' conviction to murder, which would carry a 15-year sentence. The retrial could take place later this year.
Multiple media outlets reported that Nel had an attacking style in court and has earned a reputation as a pitbull in the court room. The Guardian reported that Nel "mauled Pistorius and other witnesses during cross-examination and, like a dog with a bone."
Van Vuuren told the newspaper, however, that Nel was sympathetic to Pistorius' plight.
"I bumped accidentally into Gerrie Nel a couple of days ago in Exclusive Books (a retail chain)," Van Vuuren said. "He's quite upbeat about the case, although he actually feels sorry for Oscar. Even Gerrie Nel said it can't be easy for the guy in jail. So he's got a heart, but this is the law."
Pistorius was scheduled to spend 10 months in prison before being released to house arrest for the remainder of his sentence, per South African law. Most legal experts agree that Pistorius now has virtually no chance of getting out in 10 months because of the upcoming retrial.
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