Oscar Pistorius Appeals To Parole Board Years After Murder Conviction

Oscar Pistorius, a former paralympian from South Africa, will request an early release from prison on Friday, according to his attorneys and prison officials. Pistorius was sentenced to prison in 2016 for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was found guilty of murder for killing Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 at his house. Pistorius is a double amputee runner and triple Paralympic champion who made history by racing against competitors with normal limbs at the 2012 Olympics.

Pistorius has consistently maintained that he accidentally shot his fiancée when he thought she was a threatening intruder. He claimed he was unaware that she had gotten out of bed and gone to the restroom. 

In the early hours of February 14, 2013, Pistorius killed reality television actress and model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, by firing four shots from his legal 9 mm pistol through the door of a bathroom cubicle in his opulent Pretoria mansion.

Barry and June Steenkamp, her parents, have said that they still think he killed her deliberately during a late-night confrontation out of rage.

The father of Reeva Steenkamp, Barry Steenkamp, and the former sprinter with an amputee recently spoke as a result of a required procedure called “victim-offender conversation. This is an aspect of South Africa’s rehabilitative program, which brings victims and perpetrators of crimes together to try to find resolution.

“According to their attorney Tania Koen, the Steenkamp family opposes his request and will speak and write during the hearing about how the murder affected them.

According to prison spokeswoman Singabakho Nxumalo, the independent parole board must decide, among other things, whether Pistorius is likely to repeat similar crimes in the future. It will also take into account his behavior record, prison training programs, and physical and mental health.

He was initially sentenced to six years in prison in 2016, but after the prosecution filed an appeal and claimed the first sentence was too mild, this was increased to thirteen years.

The prosecution team in South Africa sought to establish that Pistorius was a violent, irrational guy who killed his 30-year-old girlfriend in a fit of rage.

The parole board, which consists of a minimum of three persons, will take into account Pistorius’, the Steenkamps’, and a variety of social workers’ and prison authorities’ testimony. They will consider his actions, his mental state, and the degree of his rehabilitation.

If the Steenkamps contest his release or Pistorius is denied parole on the first try, he may still go to court to make the case that South African law requires him to be released under supervision because he has already completed more than half of his term.

Glamour Adah

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