Oscar Pistorius gets parole, will be released from prison in January
Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole and will be released in January next year.
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Eight years after being sent to prison, Oscar Pistorius will be released on parole and will emerge to a different world when he is freed in January - a far cry from his former life as a globetrotting athlete.
Pistorius fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a closed toilet door on Valentine's Day in 2013, setting the scene for a highly publicised murder trial that ended in the former Paralympian being found guilty of culpable homicide.
After two State appeals, Pistorius was eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months behind bars for murdering Steenkamp, under the principle of dolus eventualis.
The Supreme Court of Appeal then issued multiple orders and letters about when that sentence came into effect, resulting in Pistorius being declared ineligible for parole in March. This after the Constitutional Court effectively confirmed that he was eligible for parole at that time.
READ | ConCourt effectively confirms Oscar Pistorius became eligible for parole in March
The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) for Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area spent just under an hour on Friday deliberating whether the 37-year-old met the requirements for release.
They also considered a victim impact statement submitted by June Steenkamp, the mother of Pistorius' murdered girlfriend Reeva, who said she did not believe the Paralympian was rehabilitated.
News24 earlier reported that Steenkamp, in a victim impact statement submitted to the board, said she did not believe that Pistorius was rehabilitated and, if this was the case, feared for the safety of women if he was released.
"I do not believe Oscar's version, that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar. In fact, I do not know anybody who does," she said.
She added:
My dearest child screamed for her life; loud enough for the neighbours to hear her. I do not know what gave rise to his choice to shoot through a closed door four times at somebody with hollow-point ammunition when I believe, he knew, it was Reeva.
While the National Prosecuting Authority initially maintained that Reeva had screamed during the shooting that claimed her life, Pistorius' close neighbours testified that the screaming had emanated from him. That evidence was not successfully challenged by the State.
Parole conditions include that he’ll be on correctional supervision and will have to undergo therapy to address his anger issues, according to Steenkamp family spokesperson Rob Matthews.
In a statement, the Department of Correctional Services said the board had considered Pistorius' profile and "other material submitted for the purposes of parole consideration".
OSCAR PISTORIUS PLACED ON PAROLE
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirms parole placement for Mr Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius, effectively from 5 January 2024. pic.twitter.com/6u7w4yTVJp
"Classified as a first time offender with a positive support system, Oscar Pistorius’ parole placement is in line with Section 73 of the Correctional Services Act. Parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting offending behaviour and may include continuation of programmes aimed at reintegration whilst in the system of community corrections," the statement read.
"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."
