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Oscar Pistorius is denied parole after serving half his sentence for murdering Reeva Steenkamp- Mrit Extra


Oscar Pistorius, the disgraced South African Paralympian who murdered his girlfriend 10 years in the past, was denied parole Friday, following a listening to at a jail in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, the place he has been held.

The double-amputee sprinter, 36, who was generally known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon fiber prosthetic legs, fired at Reeva Steenkamp 4 instances via a locked toilet door at his house in Pretoria within the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013. A promising mannequin and legislation graduate, she was 29.

Pistorius’ trial was beamed all over the world and particulars of Steenkamp’s loss of life shocked audiences, whereas the case immediately ended the profession of a pioneering sportsman who made historical past by competing towards able-bodied athletes on the Olympics.  

An announcement from South Africa’s Division of Correctional Companies stated Pistorius can be thought of for parole once more in August 2024 and wouldn’t be launched now as a result of “he didn’t full the minimal Detention Interval as dominated by the Supreme Courtroom of Enchantment.”

The Steenkamp household’s lawyer, Tania Koen, stated in an announcement after the parole board’s determination: “Whereas we welcome at the moment’s determination, at the moment just isn’t a trigger for celebration. We miss Reeva terribly and can achieve this for the remainder of our lives. We imagine in justice and hope that it continues to prevail.”

Pistorius has all the time maintained that he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar and shot her in error, however he was in the end convicted of homicide. Beneath South African legislation he’s eligible for launch having served half his sentence of 13 years and 5 months. 

If Pistorius had been launched earlier than the tip of his jail time period, he would possible have needed to put on a safety tag and never journey exterior of Gauteng Province, which incorporates Johannesburg and Pretoria. He would have remained underneath the supervision of the authorities and attended common appointments till his complete sentence was completed.

Pistorius met with Steenkamp’s father, Barry, in June 2022 as a situation of the parole course of. Her household opposed his launch as a result of they nonetheless don’t imagine Pistorius’ account of their daughter’s killing.

Her mom June Steenkamp attended the listening to on Friday to ship written and oral statements to the parole board which defined the impact Reeva’s homicide has had on their lives.

“Except he comes clear, they don’t really feel that he’s rehabilitated,” Koen, advised reporters exterior the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre jail, earlier than the listening to.

Pistorius’ protracted trial started in 2014, with two subsequent appeals by prosecutors. The a number of Paralympic champion was initially discovered responsible of culpable murder — an offense corresponding to manslaughter — for capturing Steenkamp. 

However in 2015, prosecutors appealed the manslaughter discovering and secured a homicide conviction. 

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp
Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp in Johannesburg in 2012. The couple had been collectively for simply two months on the time of her loss of life.Fortunate Nxumalo / AFP – Getty Photographs file

Pistorius was sentenced to 6 years in jail for homicide, however prosecutors once more appealed what they known as a “shockingly lenient” punishment. The Supreme Courtroom of Enchantment then elevated his sentence to 13.5 years in jail in 2017.

“It utterly dominated protection on the time, on each TV, radio station in addition to the newspapers, on-line, social media and so forth,” Glenda Daniels, affiliate professor of media research on the College of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, advised NBC Information. “There was even a complete TV channel dedicated to the trial.”

There have been many layers contributing to international curiosity within the trial, Daniels stated, chief amongst them Pistorius being “a beloved character” within the sports activities world, domestically and internationally, and the movie star standing of the couple.

Pistorius was born with a congenital situation that led to each his legs being amputated under the knee when he was 11 months previous.

However he grew to become world-famous for his sporting exploits, main out the South African staff on the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, days earlier than turning into the primary double amputee to compete towards able-bodied athletes on the video games. He would go on to achieve the semi-finals within the 400m, the space he specialised in.

As a Paralympian he was a world report holder and world champion. This led to profitable sponsorship offers with Nike and Oakley, which have been suspended after Steenkamp’s loss of life.

South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius is expected to attend a parole hearing on Friday that could see him released from prison early, a decade after he killed his girlfriend.
Reeva Steenkamp’s mom, June, on the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria for the parole listening to. The household oppose Pistorius’ launch.Phill Magakoe / AFP – Getty Photographs

At his trial in 2014, the court docket heard from a earlier girlfriend who stated Pistorius had a gun with him “on a regular basis,” together with on his bedside desk whereas he slept.

Pistorius advised the court docket that his actions in capturing Steenkamp have been influenced by his worry of a house invasion. He stated had been adopted, shot at and hi-jacked whereas residing in South Africa and stated he was “merely making an attempt to guard Reeva” as he apologized to her household. 

“I believed that there was a burglar that was gaining entry to my house. Initially I simply froze. The very first thing that ran via my thoughts was that I wanted to arm myself,” he advised the court docket.


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