Oscar Pistorius to be freed after 9 years in prison for Reeva Steenkamp murder
24.11.2023 - 14:19
/ ok.co.uk
Oscar Pistorius is set to be released from prison soon, almost ten years after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Olympian and double amputee has been in a South African prison since Valentine's Day 2013 when he shot his model girlfriend four times, claiming he thought she was an intruder. Despite being originally sentenced to five years, this was later increased to 13 years and five months after his conviction was upgraded to murder.
Pistorius, now 37, has made several attempts for parole which have all been denied until now. He was given another chance at parole at a hearing in Johannesburg earlier this week, after being wrongly ruled ineligible for early release in March.
The parole board has set his release for 5 January 2024.
In South Africa, serious criminals must serve at least half their sentence before they can apply for parole. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Pistorius should serve a minimum of 15 years for murder, but they considered the time he had already served.
However, the court made an error by not counting another period Pistorius had served while his murder sentence was being appealed, meaning he was actually eligible for parole in March when he was told at his first hearing that he would only be eligible in August 2024. Pistorius' lawyers took his case to the country's top Constitutional Court, earning him a new hearing today because of the appeal court's mistake.
"Blade runner" Pistorius competed at London 2012 and became famous as the only double amputee to run at the Olympics. He was born with a condition that led to his legs being amputated below the knee when he was a baby, but he took up track athletics and won multiple Paralympic titles on his
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