Death Penalty News

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee who became a global star competing at his sport’s highest level while running on carbon-fiber blades, was released from prison on Friday after serving nearly nine years for killing his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, 37, quietly left the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in Pretoria and was processed at a parole office before being released to his family, Department of Corrections spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told The Associated Press. Nxumalo, who referred to Pistorius’ release as an “operation” designed to avoid a media scramble, declined to give further details.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius could be granted parole on Friday after spending nearly 10 years in prison for murder. It’s the latest turn in the story of the double-amputee Olympic runner who was one of the world’s most admired athletes before he killed his girlfriend by shooting her multiple times through a toilet door at his home.

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee who dazzled the world by running in the 2012 Olympics on blade-like prosthetic legs, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. Fifteen years is the minimum sentence for murder under South African law unless the judge finds mitigating circumstances justifying a lesser penalty. Judge Thokozile Masipa said she had indeed found reason for a lighter sentence, in particular, remorse. Pistorius was originally convicted of manslaughter, called “culpable homicide” in South Africa, in September 2014, and handed a five-year sentence after a long televised trial that riveted audiences across the globe. An appeals court overruled Masipa, the trial judge, and determined that Pistorius was guilty of murder, exposing Pistorius to the stiffer sentence. Many observers expected a sentence of between 10 and 15 years, with credit for time already served. Some were reported to be shoc...

Oscar Pitorius Oscar Pistorius, who murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, was granted bail on Tuesday and has the freedom of South Africa's capital Pretoria as he waits to appeal his conviction in April. The Paralympic champion, nicknamed "Blade Runner" because of the prosthetic legs he uses to race, was granted bail of 10,000 rand ($686), after spending the last two months under house arrest at his uncle's home in a wealthy Pretoria suburb. Pistorius had been meant to serve the rest of a five-year sentence there but the Supreme Court upgraded the 29-year-old's conviction to murder from culpable homicide last week. He will appear in court on April 18 to give an update on his appeal at the constitutional court. He faces a minimum 15-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp in a case that has fascinated and divided South Africa, a country beset by high levels of violent crime. Rights groups say the white track star ha...

Oscar Pistorius (Reuters) - Olympic and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius started his five-year jail sentence on Tuesday for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, marking the end of a trial that has gripped South Africa and millions around the world. His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, indicated he would not appeal. As judge Thokozile Masipa gave her decision on the 27-year-old's culpable homicide conviction, Pistorius, whose downfall has been likened to that of American football star O.J. Simpson, stood resolutely in the dock. His only reaction was to wipe his eyes before two police officers led him to the holding cells beneath the High Court in the heart of the South African capital. Ninety minutes later, an armored police vehicle carrying Pistorius - still dressed in dark suit, white shirt and black tie - left the building through a throng of reporters toward Pretoria Central Prison, where he is expected to serve his time. Once the execution site for oppone...