Former South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering his partner Reeva Steenkamp a decade ago, may be granted conditional release on Friday after his application is considered.
• Also read: Oscar Pistorius remains in prison
The Early Release Commission will “investigate the Oscar Pistorius case on Friday, November 24, 2023” in Pretoria, the Department of Prison Services said in a press release on Monday.
It “will determine whether the inmate is suitable for social reintegration or not,” he continues. If approved, the conditional release date will be determined by the same commission.
In March, an initial application was rejected after confusion arose about how much of the prison sentence the inmate had already served. Under South African law, a convict can be granted conditional release after completing half of his sentence.
After Pistorius was convicted at first instance and then several times on appeal, prison authorities estimated that, by one count, he had not yet served half of his sentence at the time of the last conviction.
But the Constitutional Court contradicted this version and ruled last month that the counting should begin on the day the convicted murderer was put behind bars for the first time.
On the night of February 13-14, 2013, the soon-to-be 37-year-old South African athlete killed his partner, 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp, by firing a rifle through the door of his bathroom room in his high-security residence in Pretoria.
A year earlier, the six-time Paralympic champion, nicknamed “Blade Runner” in reference to his carbon prostheses, had become a sports legend by competing against able-bodied athletes in the 400 meters at the London Olympics, a first for one Double amputees.
When he was arrested early that morning, he cited a misunderstanding and claimed he believed an intruder had broken into his house.
In 2014, Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter after a trial lasting several months that was broadcast live on television.
The prosecution appealed and requested a reclassification of murder. In 2016, a new six-year prison sentence was imposed, which was still considered too lenient by prosecutors.
To end a long legal saga in an extraordinary case, the Supreme Court of Appeal finally sentenced Oscar Pistorius to 13 years and five months in November 2017.