JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, convicted of the murder of his partner Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013, will be released on parole from January 5, officials said. South African prison authorities announced on Friday.
Oscar Pistorius was sentenced in 2014 to five years in prison for manslaughter, then convicted of the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in 2015 after an appeal by the public prosecutor, then sentenced to six years in prison in 2016, less than half of the fifteen years of imprisonment required by prosecutors.
The Supreme Court increased this sentence to thirteen years and five months’ imprisonment in 2017, calling the first sentence excessively lenient.
“Mr Pistorius will serve the remainder of his sentence in the community corrections system and will be subject to supervision consistent with the conditions of parole until his sentence expires,” the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday.
Before the hearing, Rob Matthews, a spokesman for June Steenkamp, the young woman’s mother, read a statement in which she described the impact of the murder on the family.
“I am not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated. Rehabilitation requires someone to honestly face the whole truth about their crime and its consequences,” June Steenkamp said in the statement read by her spokesperson.
After the parole announcement, the Steenkamp family’s lawyer, Tania Koen, told Reuters the decision did not come as a surprise.
June Steenkamp was satisfied that the parole board took her statement into account, Tania Koen said.
“They imposed certain conditions on Oscar’s parole, namely that he must continue to undergo anger management therapy,” added Tania Koen.
Oscar Pistorius’ lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Several factors are generally considered by the parole board, including the nature of the offense, the possibility of reoffending, behavior in prison, physical and mental well-being, and potential threats the inmate may face if he or she is released.
(Bhargav Acharya; Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Nathan Vifflin for the French version, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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