‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius Granted Parole After A Decade In Prison For Killing His Girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius, the former paralympic star from South Africa who was convicted in 2014 for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, has been granted parole which will start on January 5.

Pistorius, who earned the nickname “Blade Runner” due to his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, experienced a dramatic downfall from his position as a celebrated paralympic champion to a convicted killer in a highly publicized trial that garnered worldwide attention around a decade ago. Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Initially, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 for culpable homicide by the high court. However, in late 2015, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal upheld an appeal by prosecutors and found him guilty of murder. As a result, Pistorius was sent back to jail for six years in 2016, which was less than half of the 15-year minimum term sought by the prosecutors.

In 2017, the Supreme Court further increased Pistorius’ sentence to 13 years and five months, as they deemed the initial six-year term as “shockingly lenient.”

Tania Koen, the lawyer who represented the Steenkamp family, said that Pistorius, now 37, will be required to undergo anger management therapy as a condition of his parole.

No response has been received yet from Pistorius’ lawyer in regard to this matter.

Various factors were taken into account by a parole board when they considered the case, such as the nature of the crime, the likelihood of reoffense, the prisoner’s behavior while incarcerated, their physical and mental wellness, as well as potential threats they may face upon release.

In March, Pistorius was denied parole because he had not yet completed the minimum detention period necessary to be eligible. However, in October, the Constitutional Court ruled that Pistorius had served half of his sentence by March 21. This ruling allowed him to become eligible for parole, as his sentence was backdated to July 2016 instead of November 2017.

Steenkamp’s mother said she had forgiven him “long ago as I knew most certainly that I would not be able to survive if I had to cling to my anger.”