Oscar Pistorius Granted Parole: Release Date Set for January 5, 2024

Former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, convicted of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp nearly 11 years ago, is slated to be released on parole. Pistorius, now 37, was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison by a South African court in 2016 for fatally shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

 

The parole board, In a hearing at Atteridgeville prison near Pretoria, approved his release, effective January 5, 2024. Upon release, Pistorius will be under authorities’ supervision until his sentence concludes, akin to other parolees. Additionally, he is mandated to attend therapy sessions, as conveyed by the Steenkamp family’s spokesperson.

 

During the hearing, a letter from Ms. Steenkamp’s mother expressed concerns about Pistorius’s purported “huge anger issues” and questioned if they were adequately addressed during his incarceration. While not opposing his release, she voiced apprehension for the safety of any woman encountering him.

 

June Steenkamp chose not to attend the parole hearing, citing emotional fatigue. Her husband, Barry, who met Pistorius face-to-face as part of the rehabilitation process, passed away earlier this year. Mrs. Steenkamp, despite not perceiving remorse from her daughter’s killer, had forgiven him long ago to cope with her grief.

 

This marked Pistorius’s second parole hearing within a year. The initial bid in March faltered due to an incomplete minimum detention period, a mistake later acknowledged by South Africa’s Constitutional Court, leading to the subsequent hearing.

 

Reeva Steenkamp, a law graduate, successful model, and TV presenter, was only 29 when she died. Her friend Kerry Smith recalled her as more than a pretty face, describing her as someone with a beautiful heart and ambitious dreams. The two friends had planned to establish a law firm to aid abused women.

 

Pistorius’s murder conviction in 2015, following a trial at the Supreme Court of Appeal, marked a stark turn from the initial verdict of culpable homicide. His lower legs were amputated at a young age, leading to his renowned athletic career as the “blade runner,” securing multiple gold medals at the Paralympics and competing against non-disabled athletes at the London 2012 Olympics.

 

The tragic death of Reeva Steenkamp, just six months after Pistorius’s athletic triumphs, captivated global headlines and set in motion a series of trials that continue to resonate today.