Oscar Pistorius, the two-piece Olympian who murdered his model girlfriend in his home in 2013, was quietly released on parole from a South African prison on Friday, after serving only half his sentence.
The disgraced runner secretly left Pretoria’s Atteridgeville Prison out of public view and has since arrived “home”, the country’s corrections department announced.
“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) can confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effective January 5, 2024,” the statement said. “He was put into the Community Corrections system and is now at home.”
Pistorius is expected to live in his uncle’s lavish three-story mansion, where he will spend the remainder of his parole.
The complex is equipped with armed guards, electronic defenses and several attack dogs.
Pistorius has served 13 years and five months for murdering his girlfriend, model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp, 29.
The multi-gold Paralympic runner shot Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door on Valentine’s Day.
During his murder trial, which began in 2014, Pistorius claimed he mistook his girlfriend for a thief while he used bullets designed to cause maximum damage to the human body.
Oscar Pistorius arrives for sentencing at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, July 16, 2016. REUTERS South African Olympic athletes Oscar Pistorius (right) and Reeva Steenkamp arrive for an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, four months before the murder he. AP Pistorius was held in Atteridgeville Prison in Pretoria, South Africa, before being released on January 5. AP
He was initially sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 by the high court for murder.
South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal later found Pistorius guilty of murder, a more serious charge, in late 2015.
The Olympian was sentenced to six years in 2016 before prosecutors appealed again in 2017, saying it was too light a sentence and more than doubled Pistorius’ jail time.
Members of the correctional services emergency support team stand at the entrance of the national headquarters where parole is processed, ahead of Pistorius’ release on January 5, 2024. REUTERS Members of the media stand outside the main gate of Atteridgeville Prison in Pretoria, South Africa, awaiting Pistorius’ release on January 5. AP Pistorius inside the Pretoria Magistrates Court before proceedings on June 4, 2013. REUTERS
Pistorius was granted parole last November after a failed attempt in March and will complete the remainder of his sentence in the community corrections system.
Steenkamp’s grieving mother, however, maintained her belief that Pistorius deliberately killed her daughter 11 years after “the day her life changed forever.”
“The day South Africa lost its hero, Oscar Pistorius, and the day Barry and I lost our precious daughter, Reeva, at the hands of Oscar,” June Steenkamp said Friday in a statement released by the family’s attorney.
“Now almost 11 years later, the pain is still felt and real, and my dear late husband Barry and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva’s death, or the way she died.”
Known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon fiber prosthetic legs, Pistorius became the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics when they were held in London in 2012. Capital Pictures/Sipa USA The Olympian was sentenced to six years in prison in 2016 before prosecutors appealed once again in 2017, saying it was too lenient for the sentence and more than doubled Pistorius’ jail time.
Part of Pistorius’ parole conditions include anger management therapy and sessions on gender-based violence, which Steenkamp has credited the South African legal system with taking action on.
He is also prohibited from consuming alcohol and other illegal drugs and will be monitored by parole officers until December 2029.
“There will be no justice if your loved ones never come back, and no amount of time will bring Reeva back,” Steenkamp’s mother added. “We, the ones left behind, are the ones serving life sentences.”
Pistorius is expected to live in his uncle’s lavish three-storey mansion in Waterkloof, a suburb of Pretoria, where he will spend the remainder of his parole. AFP via Getty Images Part of Pistorius’ parole conditions include anger management therapy and sessions on gender-based violence, in which Steenkamp has praised the South African legal system for taking action. Action Photo via Reuters
Known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon fiber prosthetic legs, Pistorius became the first double amputee to compete at the Olympics when they were held in London in 2012.
As he prepared to begin his parole, Pistorius was warned that he could be targeted for assassination in retaliation for Steenkamp’s murder.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
