South Africa grants Oscar Pistorius parole

Double-amputee Olympic runner, Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole, 10 years after shooting his girlfriend through a toilet door at his home in South Africa.

The country’s Department of Corrections spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo said on Friday that Pistorius would be released from prison on January 5.

“Mr Pistorius will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections and will be subjected to supervision in compliance with parole conditions until his sentence expires,” Nxumalo said.

Earlier, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, the blade runner’s slain girlfriend, told the parole hearing that she did not believe the ex-athlete was rehabilitated for he had not shown true remorse.

“Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly, with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof. Nobody can claim to have remorse if they’re not able to engage fully with the truth,” June Steenkamp said in a statement to the board.

But her spokesman told the board she was not opposing parole for Pistorius.

The hearing, held at a correctional centre outside Pretoria where Pistorius is currently detained, was the former athlete’s second shot at parole in less than eight months.

He lost a first bid in March when the board found he had not completed the minimum detention period required to be let out.

Last month, South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that the shooting was a mistake, paving the way for a new hearing.

Pistorius, who turned 37 this week, has been in jail since late 2014 for the Valentine’s Day 2013 killing of model, Reeva Steenkamp, although he was released for a period of house arrest in 2015 while one of the numerous appeals in his case was heard.

He was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison.

Serious offenders in South Africa must serve at least half of their sentence to be eligible for parole, which Pistorius has done.

Pistorius was at the height of his fame and one of the world’s most admired athletes when he killed Steenkamp. He shot her multiple times in the bathroom of his Pretoria villa in the predawn hours with his licensed 9mm pistol.

SOURCE: FRCN