South African former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2014 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been granted parole effectively from Jan. 5 next year, the South African Department of Correctional Services said yesterday.
Known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, Pistorius went from a public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted killer in hearings that caught the world’s attention a decade ago.
Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Photo: AFP
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by the High Court, but the South African Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
He was sent back to jail for six years in 2016 after a High Court sentence, which was less than half the 15-year minimum term sought by prosecutors.
In 2017, the Supreme Court more than doubled his murder sentence to 13 years and five months, saying the six-year jail term was “shockingly lenient.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services earlier said a parole board would consider Pistorius’ case at a hearing, where they would decide if he should be released on parole.
Several factors are typically taken into account by a parole board before inmates are released on parole.
These include the nature of the crimes, the possibility of reoffending, conduct in prison, physical and mental well-being and potential threats they might face if released.
Pistorius was denied parole in March after it was ruled that he had not completed the minimum detention period required to be considered for parole.
However, the South African Constitutional Court last month said that Pistorius had served half of his sentence by March 21, which meant he was eligible for parole, after his sentence was backdated to July 2016 instead of November 2017.
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