South African Paralympic champion and murderer Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole and will leave jail next January, after serving over a decade in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, actor and paralegal Reeva Steenkamp.
A spokesperson for Steenkamp’s mother has shared that she is “not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated.”
“Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof,” shared Rob Matthews to the press on behalf of June Steenkamp.
What was Oscar Pistorius jailed for?
If you aren’t in the loop and don’t know of the infamous murder case, in 2013 Pistorius was found guilty of murder for shooting Steenkamp to death through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day at his home in Pretoria.
Pistorius defended himself by saying he believed Steenkamp was an intruder. He was found guilty of culpable homicide in 2014 (equivalent to manslaughter) and was given a five year sentence.
However this ruling was overturned later that year in the supreme court and Pistorius was found guilty of murder, with prosecutors arguing that Pistorius intentionally killed Steenkamp in a fit of rage after an argument between the two.
In 2016 Pistorius was sentenced to jail for six years, but this period was doubled to 13 years and five months when Pistorius’ prosecutors argued his original sentence was “shockingly lenient.”
Why is Pistorius being granted parole?
In order to be granted parole it was argued that Pistorius had already served over half of his sentence, making him fit for parole.
Earlier this year he was rejected parole with courts saying he hadn’t served half his 13.4 year sentence, which started November 2017.
Since then constitutional courts have changed the original date of his imprisonment to be backdated to July 2016.
This backdating meant that the convicted murderer now meets the necessary requirements for parole. He will leave jail on January 5 2024.
Pistorius was a medal-winning Paralympian who was the first ever amputee runner to race at an Olympic Games. Both of his legs were amputated when he was 11-years-old due to a condition he’d had since birth.
Despite his sporting achievements, he is now most known for the infamous murder of Reeva Steenkamp.
June Steenkamp alleges Pistorius intended to kill her daughter, and wants him to spend the rest of his life in jail.
