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Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner, will be released on parole from a South African prison on Friday, more than ten years after killing his girlfriend, Reeve Steenkamp, in a shocking murder that shocked the entire world.
On November 24, 2023, the South African Department of Corrections granted Pistorius’ request for release.
Without authorization from the relevant authorities, the 37-year-old will not be permitted to leave the Pretoria neighborhood where he plans to reside.
On Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp several times through a bathroom door at his house.
After being found guilty of murder in the end, he received a sentence of 13 years and five months in jail. He has been behind bars since late 2014.
Themba Masango, the head of Not In My Name International, an advocacy group against gender-based violence and social injustices, said he hoped Pistorius could be rehabilitated : “According to South African law, Oscar Pistorius was charged, he went through trial and he was committed into the penitentiary services. And now, like any other prisoner, he is qualified for parole and is receiving parole and is going out on parole. I think that is what we call justice, it’s punitive justice, and we also believe in rehabilitative justice.”
“He has ticked all the necessary boxes. And we can only wish and hope Oscar Pistorius will come out a better human being and he’ll be able to help others, because, you know, when we look at just the punitive measures, we tend to forget that there is a possibility where somebody can be rehabilitated,” he added.
Another part of his parole conditions will see him attend a program to deal with anger issues and another program on violence against women.
Pistorius’ sentence will expire on December 5, 2029.
