Cape Town – Former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius could be eligible for parole, eight years into his imprisonment for the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius, popularly known as the “Blade Runner” was sentenced in 2015 and has effectively served half of his 15-year jail sentence.
According to SABC News, Steenkamps’ lawyer, Tanya Koen, said the parole board had decided to convene late last month, but Steenkamp’s parents had not been consulted.
“The family is a bit distressed and quite distraught both because an appointment was set up and then cancelled and because they have become aware that Pistorius is now eligible for parole, and not in March 2023,” the report quoted Koen as saying.
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Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo elaborated on the conditions of Pistorius’ parole.
He told Newzroom Afrika that the department was “not yet there”.
“I’ve seen a number of media reports talking about possible parole placement for Mr Pistorius, and as a department, we are not yet there.
“What we clarify… responding to media inquiry was the issue of the victim and the dialogue. All inmates before they are considered for parole placement, they ought to participate in that particular programme and that’s where we are. We can confirm that we have contacted the victim’s family [Steenkamp] and we are at a stage where we are preparing all parties for this highly sensitive and emotional process because it ought to be done by specialists, so that’s where are.
Oscar Pistorius’ time behind bars is nearing the end as he has served about half of his 13-year prison sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Singabakho Nxumalo elaborates on the time frame and conditions of Pistorius’ parole.
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“Inmates who are sentenced to a detriment period ought to serve their minimum required time … that is half of the sentence before they are considered for parole placement that is not a guarantee that they will be placed out but they have to appear before the parole board. A determination is then made and then a decision gets taken whether those people are now ready to be sent back into the community where they will continue to serve the remainder of the sentence.
“He has not appeared [before the parole board] because he still has to undergo this particular process. It will not assist to take his file before the parole board when there is one programme which is outstanding because the parole board will send his profile back. As the department we have to make it a point that all that is required is there and all processes have been followed and checking on the correctional sentence plan if everything that ought to be there has been included,” Nxumalo said.
Pistorius killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. He fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet where Steenkamp was. He has maintained that he mistook her for a burglar.
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Compiled by Reginald Nhlapo
