Johannesburg – Former Paralympic gold medalist and Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was granted parole on Friday, but the South African Parole Board said the decision would not take effect until January 5. The Council made its decision on the fate of the Olympic runner after more than 10 years. He shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The board was expected to consider his behavior and disciplinary record in prison, his participation in educational or other training courses, his mental and physical condition, whether it believed he was likely to reoffend and the risks he posed to the public.
South Africa’s National Department of Correctional Services said in a statement that the parole decision was made “following an assessment of Mr. Pistorius’s personal file and other materials submitted for the purposes of parole consideration,” and noted that he was a “first-time offender with a positive support system.”
Steenkamp’s mother, John, did not address the parole board directly on Friday, but a representative read a family impact statement in which John said: “Rehabilitation requires someone to honestly deal with the full truth of their crime and the consequences. No one can claim that they will feel “With remorse if they cannot fully deal with the truth.”
The Department of Correctional Services said the athlete “will serve the remainder of his sentence in the community corrections system and will be subject to supervision in accordance with the conditions of his supervised release until the completion of his sentence.”
Social workers searched the properties of his uncle Arno Pistorius in Pretoria earlier this year, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence under the terms of his parole. Conditions of parole vary in South Africa, but can include an electronic card to monitor movements and a ban on making money from media interviews about an individual’s incarceration.
The 2014 televised trial had viewers around the world glued to courtroom video, as prosecutors said the athlete, known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, intentionally shot his girlfriend through a closed bathroom door. Pistorius maintained throughout that it was a horrific accident and that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder.
He was He was eventually convicted of murder After prosecutors successfully appealed the initial conviction for first-degree murder, a lesser charge compared to manslaughter in the United States, he was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison in 2017, taking into account the time he had already spent behind bars during the appeals process. .
The double amputee, who turned 37 on Wednesday, He lost his first bid for parole in March When the Department of Correctional Service said he had not completed the minimum period of detention to be eligible for parole. Prisoners in South Africa must serve half their sentence to be eligible. Authorities decided in March that half of Pistorius’ sentence would be measured from his last conviction, but the Constitutional Court overturned that ruling last month, saying the date should be set from the first day a prisoner begins serving his sentence in prison.
Pistorius is serving his sentence in Atteridgeville Prison, west of Pretoria.
The year before he murdered his model girlfriend, Pistorius was a star at the London Olympics, achieving international fame as the first amputee to run against able-bodied runners.
“Food ninja. Friendly thinker. Explorer. Entrepreneur. Zombie junkie.