Oscar Pistorius released from prison, 11 years after the murder of his partner

2024-01-05 07:42:21

Former South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius was released from prison on Friday, almost eleven years after the murder of his partner, Reeva Steenkamp. He was placed on parole.

Published on : 05/01/2024 – 08:42

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Former South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius was released from prison on Friday January 5 and is “now at home”, placed on parole, almost eleven years after the murder of his partner Reeva Steenkamp, the prison administration confirmed .

The 37-year-old former athlete, amputee of both legs, convicted of murder and who has served more than half of his sentence, left Atteridgeville prison, in the suburbs of the capital Pretoria, early in the morning.

“He has been admitted to the community corrections system and is now home,” the administration said in a statement, confirming that his release on parole is now effective. Neither the time nor the logistical details had been communicated beforehand by the authorities, who cited “security” reasons. The six-time Paralympic champion is banned from speaking to the media.

“We who are still here are condemned for life,” lamented June Steenkamp. Asking if “justice has been served to Reeva” and if “Oscar has served enough time”, she explained that “there is never justice as your loved one will never come back.”

The Steenkamp family did not formally oppose the ex-champion’s conditional release. But June Steenkamp said she still did not believe “Oscar’s version of the facts” and was convinced that the latter “did not rehabilitate himself” in detention.

On the night of February 13 to 14, 2013, Oscar Pistorius killed model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, by shooting four times through the bathroom door of her bedroom, in his ultra-secure house in Pretoria.

A year earlier, the athlete had become a legend by lining up with the able-bodied in the 400 meters at the London Olympic Games, a first for a double amputee.

Arrested in the early morning of Valentine’s Day 2013, Oscar Pistorius denies having fired in a fit of rage, claiming to have believed in the presence of a burglar. A version that he maintained throughout the legal saga which kept the media in suspense for the following four years.

Sentence adjustment

At the end of his first trial opened in 2014 and broadcast live on television, the runner, nicknamed “Blade Runner” in reference to his carbon prostheses, received five years in prison for manslaughter.

But the prosecution considers the sentence “scandalously lenient” and calls for it to be reclassified as murder. After several calls and the crude reading of an autopsy report from the victim which caused the accused to vomit, the latter was finally sentenced at the end of 2017 to 13 years and five months in prison for murder.

South African law provides that a person convicted of murder is eligible for a reduced sentence once half of their sentence has been completed. At the end of November, the prison administration announced the early release of Oscar Pistorius.

As part of his placement on parole until the end of his sentence in 2029, Oscar Pistorius must undergo therapy on anger management and violence against women.

He is not allowed to consume alcohol. He must also carry out community service, but he must be present at a designated home in a suburb of Pretoria at certain times of the day.