Olympic Sprinter, Oscar Pistorious Released From South African Prison After Killing His Girlfriend

The double-amputee paralympian and Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, was granted freedom from prison on Friday, over ten years after shocking the world by shooting and killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Because Pistorius had completed half of his 13-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp, he was eligible for release under South African law, and a parole board granted his petition in November.

Pistorius was freed on Friday morning from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, which is located west of Pretoria at the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa, Singabakho Nxumalo. Up until his sentence expires in 2029, he will be subject to parole restrictions. Steenkamp’s mother said in a statement on Friday, following Pistorius’s release, that all she wanted was to be able to spend the rest of her years in peace.

Oscar Pistorius

June Steenkamp stated, “If your loved one is never coming back, then there can never be justice, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back.” “The ones serving a life sentence are us, the ones left behind.”

On February 14, 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door at his Pretoria home. Prosecutors said that he killed her during a Valentine’s Day dispute out of rage, but he has maintained that he killed her because he thought she was an intruder. Pistorius made a not-guilty plea to one murder charge and a weapons charge related to the killing of Steenkamp at the trial, which attracted international attention.

In 2014, he saw his first manslaughter conviction, for which he received a five-year term. However, a year later, a higher court reversed the judgment and increased it to murder, thereby bringing his punishment to six years of imprisonment.

Prosecutors filed an appeal of the decision, arguing that the punishment was too light. The South African Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal enhanced Pistorius’ sentence in 2017 to 13 years and 5 months.

In March 2023, Pistorius was granted parole because of a statute that releases prisoners after they have served half of their sentence and meet certain requirements, which is because of his good behaviour. As a component of the nation’s restorative justice system, the law offers criminals the chance to acknowledge and be held accountable for their actions.

Pistorius will serve out the balance of his sentence in the nation’s community corrections system, according to the DCS. According to Reuters, which cited the Steenkamp family’s attorney, he will have to continue his anger management therapy sessions and attend programs on sexual assault against women.

According to a statement released by the DCS on Wednesday, General parole conditions remain.

One of the conditions is that Pistorius must stay at home during specific hours of the day and will not use alcohol or other illegal substances and he will have to take part in the programs that the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board have chosen and with a statement not to give media interviews like other parolees.