Oscar Pistorius sentencing: Will he go to jail for culpable homicide?

This week Oscar Pistorius will be sentenced over the death of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The double amputee Paralympian killed the 29-year-old on Valentine's Day last year, shooting her four times through the toilet door in his Pretoria home.

Pistorius claimed he thought she was an intruder, and after a long-running trial, Judge Thokozile Masipa last month declared him not guilty of murder.

Instead, she found him guilty of culpable homicide - a charge similar to Australia's manslaughter.

The question now is will the former Olympian and Paralympian go to jail?

The sentence is at the discretion of the judge. There is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide.

It means Judge Masipa may declare Pistorius should spend 15 years in jail, or be spared a custodial sentence entirely.

Judge Masipa is widely respected in South Africa, and is known for being especially tough on offenders who are violent against women.

Last year, she sentenced a rapist to 252 years in jail.

But her verdict in finding Oscar Pistorius not guilty of murder, while applauded by some, also sparked fierce criticism, including from within South Africa's legal fraternity.

If Judge Masipa decides Oscar Pistorius has been punished enough and should not go to jail, it will fuel outrage among those who believe justice has not been served.

* Pistorius found guilty of manslaughter

From the start, this case has fascinated millions.

The trial itself was a spectacle to rival that of the OJ Simpson trial.

Seven News Reporter Laurel Irving was in the courtroom to witness the most stunning moments.

Here she recounts the fascinating twists and turns of a trial that gripped the world as Pistorius prepares to learn his fate:

Oscar Pistorius: Once a nation's hero

In an outdated, airless room with bad acoustics and hard wooden benches, the most dramatic court case in a generation has this year unfolded in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Oscar Pistorius trial was expected to be fascinating. The reality was so much more - we witnessed the unravelling of a hero.

He was the man who made South Africans proud of their country. A boy born without lower legs, who refused to be told he couldn't be normal.

He became the Blade Runner - his greatest achievement running in the 2012 London Olympics, against able-bodied athletes.

But six months later, he'd shot dead his girlfriend and his life had fallen apart.

In early March this year, Oscar Pistorius went on trial for Reeva Steenkamp's murder.

For the first time in South Africa, the trial was broadcast live. Across televisions, radios, live streams, and social media, every utterance in court has been witnessed, and dissected, around the world.

Every day, dozens of reporters from every continent shuffled into the courtroom with armfuls of laptops and power boards.

Creatures of habit, most sat in the same place every day.

Via Twitter and live blogs, they relayed to the world every sentence uttered and every emotion expressed by the main players in the drama.

The most valuable real estate was behind the Pistorius family.

Every day of the trial, the athlete's sister Aimee, brother Carl, his uncle, aunt and cousins filled the front benches on the left hand side of the court.

They joked and chatted to the international media in breaks, sometimes offering insights to developments in the case, and occasionally, supplying photographs.

On the other side of the court sat Reeva Steenkamp's mother June, supported by close family and members of the Women's League of the African National Congress.

For the final days of the trial, she was joined by husband Barry, who'd missed the first few months after suffering a stroke.

When pictures were shown on the court's many large screens, June hung her head.

Several times early in the trial, graphic photos of her daughter's body were accidentally flashed up.

After that, she wouldn't look up until told by those around her that the photo was safe.

Her every move and facial expression was scrutinised and instantly reported.

Sometimes, during especially dramatic moments, journalists sitting at the other end of the court stood up on tiptoes, just to see her reaction.

The drama of the trial could be measured by the noise in the courtroom.

Fiery exchanges, gripping revelations and the emotional reactions of the defendant all prompted furious clacking of computer keyboards.

Some moments, though, were so shocking that all typing momentarily stopped.

From the start of the trial, Oscar Pistorius' raw emotions prompted as much discussion as the evidence.

Few sitting inside the courtroom as the Paralympian vomited or sobbed doubted the sincerity of his reactions.

Even the Prosecution acknowledged he's deeply traumatised by the shooting.

But several days into a brutal, damaging cross examination, there was a moment when many held their breath.

Asked about why he didn't hear Reeva behind the toilet door (he says he thought she was an intruder), the athlete took a deep breath, and sat back in his chair.

For 31 seconds, he did not answer. All movement gradually stopped. In the silence, some wondered if this was the moment he would confess.

Finally he responded in a choked voice, saying he wished she had said something, then he would not have shot her.

It's a reflection of the remarkable nature of the case that such a moment could arise.

Neither side had definitive proof of their version of events. Judge Masipa had to decide between the word of a former hero against that of a relentless, determined prosecutor.

She believed the Olympian.

Judge Masipa blasted Oscar Pistorius as a poor, evasive witness, but said that didn't mean he was guilty.

And while she said in court there were elements of that night that will never make sense (why didn't he make sure Reeva was in bed before he armed himself?) she said there simply was not enough evidence to convict him of murder.

Long before her verdict, though, many had already decided what happened that night.

During the case, the trial was the number one topic of discussion in South Africa.

On Twitter, only the death of Nelson Mandela had more mentions.

Passionate debate erupted outside the High Court each day - often between school children - about the merits of the case.

On social media, the debate was, and is, long and furious.

The trial has also made household names of the two main combatants - Pistorius' lawyer Barry Roux, and the Prosecutor known as The Bulldog - Gerrie Nel.

People clamour for their autographs on Pretoria streets, and pass judgement on their court strategies.

Soon, Oscar Pistorius will learn if he'll go to jail for killing his girlfriend.

For those outside the immediate Pistorius and Steenkamp circles, though, the sentence is almost immaterial.

The vast majority of people following the case around the world have already reached their own judgement.

His family has spoken hopefully of his return to athletics, perhaps to compete at the Rio Olympics, if he escapes jail time.

But the life of Oscar Pistorius, revealed in the trial to have been living a shallow life of fast cars and guns, the fall is already complete.

He will never again be his nation's hero.''''