Oscar Pistorius Granted Parole 10 Years After Murdering Girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner,” has been granted parole and is set to be released on January 5, 2024, a decade after he fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, 37, was convicted of shooting Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria in 2013, which led to his incarceration.
Parole Granted After Previous Denial
Pistorius was granted parole at a hearing held in Pretoria, where he has been held. His parole was confirmed by Tania Koen, a lawyer representing the Steenkamp family and Pistorius himself. This decision comes after Pistorius was previously denied parole at a hearing in March. The judge had ruled that he hadn’t served the minimum time required to qualify for parole and wouldn’t be eligible until August 2024.
The high-profile murder trial had caught the attention of the global audience as details of Steenkamp’s death were widely publicized. The incident had immediately ended Pistorius’ career, who was once a highly prominent disabled athlete. Pistorius maintained that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder and shot her by accident.
Parole Conditions and Sentencing Background
Since Pistorius has not served his full sentence of 13 years and five months, he will likely be required to wear an electronic security tag and be prohibited from leaving Gauteng Province, which encompasses Johannesburg and Pretoria. Pistorius was initially sentenced to six years in prison for murder, but this was later increased following an appeal from prosecutors who viewed the original sentence as too lenient.
Pistorius’ trial in 2014 had revealed that he kept a gun with him at all times and lived in a state of constant fear. He had claimed that he had been followed, shot at, and hijacked in the past, which led to him assuming that the person in his bathroom was a burglar. However, Steenkamp’s family opposed his release as they rejected Pistorius’ account of their daughter’s killing.
Pistorius’ Background and Olympic Participation
Pistorius was born with a congenital condition that led to both his legs being amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old. Despite his disability, he made history by competing in an able-bodied field at the Olympics and became the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics in 2012.
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