Oscar Pistorus, 37, a double amputee and former paralympian, has been released on parole after serving half of his 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through the door of the toilet in his Pretoria home on February 14, 2013.
Oscar Pistorus and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before he killed her.
According to South African officials, Pistorus was released early January 2024, because, according to the law in South Africa, all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole after serving half of their total sentence, which was set in 2017 at 13 years and five months.
The South African Department of Correctional Services said that, even if Pistorus is a high-profile person, he will be treated like anyone on parole and must abide by the set terms and conditions. This means that he will be confined to his home for certain hours of the day, banned from drinking alcohol, and not speak to the media.
“He will live under strict conditions, including being unable to speak to the media until his sentence expires in 2029,” the South African Department of Correctional Services said.
Mrs. June Steenkamp, mother to the late Reeva Steenkamp, said that she accepts the decision of the law and that it must take its cause. She also welcomed the conditions imposed by the parole board; however, she asked if Pistorus had served enough to make up for her daughter’s loss.
“There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back; we remain the ones serving a life sentence,” Mrs. Steenkamp said.
Pistorus shot Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law graduate who had a successful modelling career and also worked on television as a presenter, through the toilet door of his house multiple times in 2013 and claimed that he had mistaken her for a burglar.
Pistorus was tried and went to prison in 2014, in his initial conviction, then released in 2015–2016 under house arrest, before the court overturned the verdict and changed the sentence. He was later convicted of murder.
His lower legs were amputated when he was a child, but he relied on prosthetics and became a world-recognized athlete named ‘Blade Runner’.
Oscar Pistorus, double amputee and former paralympian known as the Blade Runner
Pistorus was a successful Paralympic athlete, the first to win multiple golds, and he cemented his reputation after competing with non-disabled athletes at the London Olympics in 2012.
