Oscar Pistorius Denied Parole, Shocking South African Runner’s Family

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner who killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, will not be freed on parole.

Oscar Pistorius Parole Denied

Pistorius was expected to be freed on parole this coming Friday. However, Justice Minister Michael Masutha said in court that the athlete would not be released this week, claiming that the initial ruling was made without the right legal basis, reported Business Day. Masutha stated that the parole board had handed down its decision prematurely, as at the time Pistorius had not even served a sixth of his five-year sentence. The law requires that such a decision not be made until that time.

“It is therefore clear that there is no legal basis upon which such a decision was made,” Masutha explained. “One sixth of a five years sentence is 10 months and at the time the decision was made Mr. Pistorius had served only over six months of his sentence.”

Pistorius’ family had been expecting to welcome him back home Friday, and were disconcerted to learn that will not be the case.

“We are shocked and disappointed that Oscar won’t be home this Friday,” a family member who wished to remain anonymous told Reuters, adding that they had planned a “low key welcome” for him.

In October 2014, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for his culpable homicide conviction in the shooting death of Steenkamp, as it was found that the prosecution failed to prove that Pistorius had planned to kill Steenkamp.

Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Throughout the highly publicized trial, Pistorius maintained that he had shot through the bathroom door in his Pretoria, South Africa, home, mistaking Steenkamp for an intruder. Part of Pistorius’ defense was that the Olympian felt vulnerable, as he did not have his prosthetic legs on at the time. The prosecution, however, painted Pistorius as a jealous boyfriend with a short fuse who purposely shot to kill Steenkamp.