Shamed Paralympian Oscar Pistorius may soon have an opportunity to regain his freedom. After prosecutors made a significant admission regarding their earlier refusal to grant him parole, Pistorius is set to appear in an emergency parole hearing this Friday. His family and legal team remain optimistic that he will be released from his prison sentence for the tragic shooting of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
If Pistorius is granted his freedom, he will be closely protected due to the potential threat of revenge attacks from Johannesburg’s underworld, as previously revealed by Mail Online. It was found that Pistorius was incorrectly ineligible for early release in March.
South Africa’s department of corrections announced that a parole board will evaluate Pistorius’s suitability for social integration on Friday. Despite this development, Reeva’s family, as revealed in an exclusive interview with Mail Online earlier this year, believes that their daughter’s killer should remain behind bars. They expressed their strong opposition to his release.
Oscar Pistorius: A Tragic Turn of Events
Pistorius, a world-famous double-amputee athlete, achieved global recognition when he competed on carbon-fiber running blades in the 2012 London Olympics. However, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013, he tragically shot Reeva multiple times through a closed toilet cubicle door in his home in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital. Initially convicted of culpable homicide, his charge was later upgraded to murder after prosecution appeals.
In the legal battle that followed, Pistorius was ultimately sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison. According to South African law, serious offenders must serve at least half of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole. However, the appeals made by prosecutors complicated his parole eligibility. The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in 2017 that Pistorius should serve the country’s minimum murder sentence of 15 years. His previous term of 13 years and five months took into account the time he had already served for a culpable homicide conviction.
The initial calculation, however, overlooked another period Pistorius had served during the appeals process for his murder sentence. This error rendered him eligible for parole in March, despite being informed during his first hearing that he would only be eligible in August 2024. Pistorius’s lawyers took his case to South Africa’s apex Constitutional Court, leading to the decision to hold another parole hearing – effectively acknowledging the error made by the appeal court.
Reeva’s Family: A Determined Stand
Mr. Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s father, sadly passed away in September. However, both he and his wife June expressed their strong objection to the potential release of their daughter’s murderer. Their view was shared in several interviews and they remained resolute in their belief that Pistorius should not be freed.
Pistorius’s fate now lies in the hands of the parole board, which will assess various factors such as his behavior and disciplinary record in prison, his mental health, and the potential risk of recidivism. The final decision could result in full parole or day parole, allowing Pistorius to live and work in the community while returning to prison at night.
Oscar Pistorius: A Life Defined by Tragedy
Pistorius’s life has been marred by tragedy. Born with a congenital condition leading to the amputation of his legs below the knee, he defied expectations by becoming a track athlete and winning multiple Paralympic titles on his signature running blades. He gained worldwide recognition as the “Blade Runner,” but his fame crumbled when he took Steenkamp’s life only months after the London Olympics.
During his murder trial, Pistorius maintained that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and shot her with his licensed 9 mm pistol. Turning 37 this Wednesday, he has been out of the public eye for nearly a decade, with only occasional glimpses of his time in prison. In a meeting between Mr. Steenkamp and Pistorius at a detention center near their Port Elizabeth home, Mr. Steenkamp left unconvinced that Pistorius should be granted freedom. Mrs. Steenkamp expressed even stronger feelings towards the shooter, saying she couldn’t bring herself to meet him and harbored anger towards him for robbing their family of their beloved Reeva.
The road ahead for Pistorius remains uncertain. As the parole hearing approaches, the world watches with anticipation to see if the fallen athlete will be given another chance at freedom. The outcome will ignite discussions about justice, forgiveness, and the consequences of a single moment of violence.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of MailOnline.
