South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius who was jailed ten years ago for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been granted parole.
He got the parole granted on Friday after serving nine years for the crime which he was convicted of. Pistorius is to be released on January 5, South African authorities have said.
Pistorius was a hero and a public figure in South Africa for his being a Paralympic champion. He was known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs.
But he became a convicted killer in hearings that caught the world’s attention after he shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
“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,” the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday.
Victim’s family react
Rob Matthews, spokesperson for Steenkamp’s mother June, read out a statement from her detailing the impact the murder had had on the family, just ahead of Friday’s hearing.
“I’m not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated. Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof,” June Steenkamp said in the remarks read out by Matthews.
After the parole was announced, the Steenkamp family’s lawyer Tania Koen was quoted by Reuters as saying that the decision had not come as a surprise.
June Steenkamp was satisfied that the parole board had considered her statement, Koen said.
“They imposed certain conditions on Oscar’s parole, which is that he must continue with anger management therapy,” Koen added.
Jailing Pistorius
He was first jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court, but the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the more serious charge of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
Prosecutors were seeking 15-year minimum jail term but his total sentence was lengthened to six years in 2016.
In 2017, the Supreme Court more than doubled his total sentence to 13 years and five months, saying the six-year jail term was “shockingly lenient”.
Pistorius was denied parole in March this year after it was ruled that he had not completed the minimum detention period required to be considered for parole.
The Constitutional Court said in October however that Pistorius had served half of his sentence by March 21, which meant he was eligible, after his sentence was backdated to July 2016 instead of November 2017.
Typically to be granted a parole, a parole board would have to take into consideration, the nature of the crime, the possibility of reoffending, conduct in prison, physical and mental wellbeing and potential threats a prisoner may face if released.
Source: Africafeeds.com
