Pretoria – Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius was refused parole on Friday after seeking early release from prison, a decade after he shot and killed his girlfriend, lawyers and authorities said.
The Department of Correctional Services said a parole board found Pistorius had not completed the minimum detention period required to be let out.
“We were… advised at this point in time that it has been denied and it will be considered again in one year time,” Tania Koen, a lawyer for the victim’s family, said.
Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp, a model, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his ultra-secure Pretoria house, in a killing that shocked the world.
A parole hearing opened Friday morning at the jail on the outskirts of the capital where the 36-year-old is detained.
Steenkamp’s parents, who opposed an early release, saying they do not believe the ex-athlete told the truth about what happened and has not shown remorse, welcomed the decision.
“While we welcome today’s decision, today is not a cause for celebration. We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail,” they said in a statement via their lawyer.
ALSO READ | Parole hearing: Oscar Pistorius ‘won’t receive special treatment’
Earlier, Steenkamp’s mother, June, had made the couple’s position known to the board addressing the hearing in person.
“I don’t believe his story,” she told journalists from the back of a car as she arrived at the correctional facility.
She did not meet face to face with her daughter’s killer on Friday, as the parole board decided to hear the two separately, Koen later told reporters outside the prison.
“It was very unpleasant for her… but she knew that she had to do it for Reeva,” Koen said.
Steenkamp’s father Barry was unable to travel because of ill health but submitted a statement, she added.
“Before he dies he has one wish and that’s Oscar would just tell us exactly what happened that night,” Carmen Dodd, who read the statement to the board, told journalists.
Comprising at least three people, including prison services and community members, the board was to determine whether the purpose of imprisonment had been served, according to the department of correctional services.
“The (board) granted inmate Pistorius a further profile for August 2024,” correctional services spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said in a statement.
“The reason provided is that the inmate did not complete the minimum Detention Period as ruled by the Supreme Court of Appeal.”
‘Traumatic’
Known worldwide as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial and several appeals.
He had pleaded not guilty and denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.
Prisoners in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half of their sentence.
Pistorius had been thought to have served more than half, having started his term in 2014.
Pistorius met with Steenkamp’s parents last year, part of a process that authorities say aims to ensure inmates “acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large”.
Koen described the meeting as “very emotional” and “traumatic”.
A year before killing Steenkamp, Pistorius became the first double amputee to race in the Olympics, competing at the 2012 London Games.
He became a household name worldwide and courted by sponsors, but it all came crashing down after the killing.
Inmates have the right to approach the courts for review when parole is denied.
Parole hearing: Oscar Pistorius ‘won’t receive special treatment’
The Correctional Services Department has reportedly said that Oscar Pistorius will not receive any special treatment regarding his parole application, despite his public profile.
“In Correctional Services the mandate and the code is clear that all inmates must be treated equally.
“But when they’re inside our facilities we must make it a point that at no point they may either feel special or feel they are being ill-treated because of that elevated public profile. Hence the process remains the same, must be applied the same way and it has to be fair to the inmates,” EWN quoted Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo as saying.
Pistorius will appear before the medical parole board, sitting in Tshwane, as he seeks early release on parole.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, attorney Ulrich Roux said the parole board will determine if Pistorius has been rehabilitated and that he can be re-integrated back into society.
“The function of the parole board now is to determine whether those seven and a half years have rehabilitated him, whether he genuinely shows remorse for his actions and whether he can be re-integrated back into society.
“It would be the first time that he is considered for parole… Personally I’m of the view that Mr Pistorius may not qualify for parole at this point in time” Roux said.
The parole hearing of convicted killer Oscar Pistorius will get underway in Pretoria today. The former Paralympian shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Legal expert Adv. Deon Pool weighs in.
Watch: https://t.co/4MkXwyYwwP#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/fBL6Sx2FUl
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 31, 2023
Oscar Pistorius parole: Hearing will be closed to media
Johannesburg – 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.
A parole board is scheduled to convene at 10am at the prison where the now 36-year-old is being held on the outskirts of Pretoria. The hearing will be closed to the media.
Pistorius shot dead Reeva Steenkamp, a model, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, firing four times through the bathroom door of his Pretoria house, in a killing that shocked the world.
Steenkamp’s mother June is to appear before the board to “make representations” for herself and on behalf of her husband, Barry, who is unable to travel due to ill health, Tania Koen, a lawyer for the family said.
“They have no expectations,” Koen said of the Steenkamps ahead of the hearing. “The law must take its course”.
ALSO READ | Pistorius up for parole: Reeva’s mom to address board
Comprising at least three people, including prison services and community members, the board is to determine whether the purpose of imprisonment has been served, according to the Department of Correctional Services.
Known worldwide as the “Blade Runner” because of his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius was found guilty of murder and given a 13-year jail sentence in 2017 after a lengthy trial, including several appeals.
He had pleaded not guilty and denied that he killed Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.
Offenders in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half of their sentence.
Pistorius’ lawyer Julian Knight said he would not comment until after a decision on the parole was made.
‘Acknowledge the harm’
Pistorius met Steenkamp’s parents last year, in a process authorities said aims to ensure inmates “acknowledge the harm they have caused to their victims and the society at large”.
The board will consider whether Pistorius has been rehabilitated or still poses a danger to society, as well as his conduct in prison, according to the correctional services.
Parole decisions are usually known the same day of the hearing or a day later, but the Department of Correctional Services department has suggested that in Pistorius’s case the decision may not be taken on the same day.
If denied, the offender has the right to approach the courts for review.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter/@mashesha
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