Oscar Pistorius To Face Second Chance At Parole After Nearly A Decade In Jail
Oscar Pistorius, who was mistakenly declared unsuitable for an early release from prison in March, will get another chance at parole during a hearing on Friday.
Due to the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in late 2014, Pistorius, a well-known double-amputee athlete who shattered records by competing on carbon fiber running blades at the 2012 London Olympics, has been incarcerated since then.
He was first found guilty of culpable homicide, a crime similar to manslaughter, after shooting Steenkamp several times in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013 through a closed bathroom cubicle door at his Pretoria, South Africa, residence.
Following several appeals by the prosecution, his conviction was increased to murder, and he was given a term of 13 years and five months in jail.
In South Africa, serious offenders are not eligible for parole until they have completed at least half of their sentence.
Prosecutors’ appeals have complicated Pistorius’s case and eligibility for parole. They first contested his conviction for culpable homicide and then his six-year murder sentence, which they described as remarkably light.
However, the court made an error by not counting another period Pistorius had served while his murder sentence was being appealed, meaning he was eligible for parole in March when he was told at his first hearing that he would only be eligible in August 2024.
Pistorius’ lawyers took his case to the country’s apex Constitutional Court and the decision to give Pistorius another parole hearing on Friday is seen as effectively an admission of the appeal court’s error.
Pistorius is not guaranteed to be granted early release.
The parole board takes several factors into account, including his conduct and disciplinary record in prison, his mental health, and the likelihood of him committing another crime.
He could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community but have to return to prison at night.
Pistorius was once one of the world’s most admired athletes and one of sports’ most heart-warming stories.
He was born with a congenital condition that led to his legs being amputated below the knee when he was a baby, but he took up track and won multiple Paralympic titles on his running blades.
He is the only double amputee to run at the Olympics.
Known as “Blade Runner”, he was at the height of his fame when he killed Steenkamp months after the London Olympics.
At his murder trial, he claimed he shot Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, by mistake with his licensed 9mm pistol because he believed she was a dangerous intruder hiding in his bathroom in the middle of the night.
Pistorius will turn 37 on Wednesday and has not been seen for nearly a decade, although there have been occasional glimpses of his time in prison.
He sustained an injury in an altercation with another inmate over a prison telephone in 2017.
A year earlier, he received treatment for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied were a result of him harming himself and said were caused by him falling in his cell.