South Africa | Oscar Pistorius to be released on parole after nearly a decade

Oscar Pistorius, the South African-born Paralympic sprinter convicted in his girlfriend’s murder, has been granted parole after nearly a decade behind bars.

The 37-year-old, who fatally shot Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013, meets the requirements for parole in South Africa and will be released from prison on Jan. 5, 2024, according to the Department of Correctional Services.

In a statement Friday, the government body attributed the decision to the athlete’s classification “as a first time offender with a positive support system.”

“Mr. Pistorius will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections and will be subjected to supervision in compliance with parole conditions until his sentence expires,” read the statement, shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services.

As part of those conditions, Pistorius will not be permitted to leave the South African capital of Pretoria, where he has been serving his sentence, a department spokesman said.

The former sprinter, whose nickname “Blade Runner” stemmed from the prosthetic blades he wore in races, must also perform community service and attend a program to combat anger issues, as well as one related to violence against women.

Pistorius fired four shots at his model girlfriend at his Pretoria home on that fateful 2013 morning, when he claimed to have mistaken her for an intruder.

Prosecutors’ appeal of his 2014 conviction for culpable homicide — and a five-year sentence — led to the Supreme Court of Appeal handing down a murder conviction the following year.

Though prosecutors sought the 15-year minimum term, Pistorius’ sentence was extended to a “shockingly lenient” six years in 2016, then more than doubled the following year to 13 years and 5 months.

Prior to the department’s announcement Friday, Steenkamp’s mother said in a statement that she was “not convinced that Pistorius has been rehabilitated.”

“Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof,” June Steenkamp said.

Source: New York Daily News, Jami Ganz, November 24, 2023

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