South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is set to discover whether he faces a prison term for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Judge Thokozile Masipa has heard the prosecution call for a minimum 10-year sentence, against a defence argument for community service and house arrest.
Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.
On the eve of sentencing, Pistorius’s siblings criticised the “twisted” and “sensationalised” media coverage.
His sister Aimee and brother Carl told a South African broadcaster the facts had been “twisted and manipulated”.
‘Lot of anxiety’
Pistorius, 27, an amputee sprinter who became the first athlete to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, killed Ms Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.
He says he shot her by mistake, fearing there was an intruder in his house in the capital, Pretoria.
Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV star and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets fired by Pistorius through a toilet door.
Last month, Judge Masipa cleared Pistorius of murder, but convicted him of culpable homicide, saying he had been negligent.
The high-profile, seven-month trial has captured public attention in South Africa and beyond.
There is no legal limit on the length of a jail term, but experts say the typical maximum sentence for culpable homicide is around 15 years.
However, even after the sentence is announced in Pretoria, the case may not be over.
Both the prosecution and the defence have the right to appeal against the verdict.
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Source: BBC