Probation officer Annette Vergeer has told the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa that prison would "break" Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius.
The 27-year-old's defence team have called for the court to issue the double amputee with a sentence of home arrest for three years after he was found guilty of culpable homicide.
Pistorius was convicted of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot dead through a toilet door at his home in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
The athlete could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but his defence team believe that a correctional supervision term would be appropriate.
Ms Vergeer told the High Court: "It would break him as a person and take away his future, and place a broken person back into society. His rehabilitation has a far greater chance of success under custodial supervision than in prison."
Pistorius was cleared of murder after claiming that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired the shots.
