south african athlete Oscar Pistorius should not go to jail over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp his sentencing hearing has been told.

A correctional officer appearing for the defence said Pistorius should serve house arrest and community service. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel described the suggestion as "shockingly inappropriate". Pistorius was found guilty of the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp last month - but was cleared of murder. The decision was criticised by the victim's family. Pistorius faces up to 15 years in jail, although Judge Thokozile Masipa may suspend the sentence or impose a fine. She said the athlete had acted "negligently" when he shot his girlfriend through a toilet door, but had genuinely thought her to be an intruder. At the sentencing hearing, Joel Maringa, a corrections officer summoned by the defence, said Pistorius should perform community service and receive three years of house arrest rather than imprisonment. Karin Giannone looks ahead to the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius "The accused will benefit from correctional supervision," Mr Maringa said, adding that this will give him an "opportunity to restructure and modify his behaviour". "We are basically not saying that he should be destroyed because he will still be coming back into the community," he said. The court earlier heard a psychologist testify that Pistorius was a "broken man" after the killing. 'Very emotional' The Paralympic sprinter had strenuously denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine's Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake. Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets shot through a toilet door by Pistorius at his home in the capital, Pretoria. Analysis by Andrew Harding, Africa correspondent, Pretoria There is a very real chance - backed up by precedent - that Pistorius could be given no jail time at all. The judge could argue that he is a first-time offender who has shown genuine remorse. But given his criminal misuse of a firearm, what sort of message would that send to the public? And - this is unanswerable, I suppose - would it even be in his own best interests to serve no prison time? Would the public here and abroad welcome him back into society, and what sort of stress would he find himself under? Having given Pistorius the benefit of the doubt in reaching her verdict - and taken plenty of flak for it - Judge Masipa may choose to lean the other way in sentencing.