Oscar movie opening Steenkamps’ wounds

By any measure, Barry and June Steenkamp have been through a lot. First, their beloved daughter, Reeva, was gunned down by Oscar Pistorius, the Blade Runner. Then they had to go through the agony of a lengthy trial.

That trial became the focus of media attention, the glare of publicity was unyielding and the Steenkamps were in it all the time.

The world watched as they witnessed the grisly details of their daughter’s death unveiled in a Pretoria court room.

The emotional agony would have been piled on as they saw the former Paralympian convicted of culpable homicide by Judge Thokozile Masipa. Pistorius was then released on parole.

There was more stress for the family as the state appealed against the court judgment.

The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the culpable homicide conviction and substituted it with one of murder. He was then re-sentenced to six years in jail by Judge Masipa.

And there, if the world was a just place, the saga would have ended, allowing the Steenkamps the privacy to grieve for Reeva.

Now, though, their world has been ripped apart again, with the news that a movie has been made about the murder.

The company that put it together, Lifetime – part of the American entertainment giant A+E Networks – has claimed the film has been approved by the Steenkamps because it allegedly tells the story from Reeva’s point of view.

The Steenkamps have had to get their lawyer to issue a statement denying the claim that the film was approved by them.

How dare this company do this? How dare they open the healing wounds of the Steenkamps? It makes you wonder how Lifetime view crimes against women.