Oscar Pistorius, the South African athlete who shot his girlfriend through a toilet door at his home, has been granted parole after 10 years.
The news of his release from prison on January 5 has garnered global attention, as his crime shocked the world. However, his freedom will come with strict conditions. Over the next five years, Pistorius will be under constant monitoring by parole officials until his sentence expires.
He will be required to reside within the Pretoria area and seek permission from authorities if he wishes to leave. Additionally, he will be mandated to participate in programs addressing anger management and violence against women. Furthermore, Pistorius will be expected to fulfill community service obligations.
“Parole does not mean the end of the sentence. It is still part of the sentence. It only means the inmate will complete the sentence outside a correctional facility,” Nxumalo said. “What will happen is that Mr. Pistorius will be allocated a monitoring official. This official will work with him until his sentence expires.”
According to Nxumalo, the official in charge of monitoring Pistorius would have to be informed of any significant occurrences in his life, such as his desire to relocate or secure employment.
“We have to be informed of each and every activity,” Nxumalo said. Nxumalo stated that Pistorius will not be required to wear a monitoring bracelet, as it is not a standard part of the parole procedure in South Africa. Pistorius’ sentence is set to end on December 5, 2029.
The decision to grant him parole was made during a hearing held at the prison earlier on Friday. Pistorius, who recently turned 37, has been incarcerated since late 2014 for the murder of model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Although he was briefly released for house arrest in 2015 during one of his appeals, he was ultimately convicted of murder and given a prison sentence of 13 years and five months.
Pistorius had his second parole hearing within a span of eight months. In the first hearing held in March, he was mistakenly deemed ineligible for early release due to an error made by an appeals court regarding the official start of his sentence.
Initially, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, which is similar to manslaughter, for the killing of Steenkamp. However, this conviction was later overturned, and he was convicted of murder following an appeal by the prosecutors. Furthermore, the prosecutors also appealed against the initial sentence of six years for murder, resulting in Pistorius ultimately receiving a sentence of 13 years and five months in prison.
During his murder trial, Pistorius claimed that he mistakenly shot Steenkamp, believing she was an intruder hiding in his bathroom. He fired four times through the door, thinking he was in danger. However, prosecutors argued that Steenkamp had sought refuge in the toilet cubicle during an argument, and Pistorius killed her in a fit of rage.
Pistorius was ultimately convicted of murder based on the legal principle of dolus eventualis, which implies that he acted with extreme recklessness and should have known that his actions could result in someone’s death. This conviction is comparable to third-degree murder.
Sadly, Steenkamp’s father passed away in September, while her mother, June Steenkamp, did not oppose Pistorius’ parole. However, she expressed her belief that Pistorius had not fully rehabilitated and was still being dishonest about the killing.
