Valentine’s Day killer Oscar Pistorius granted parole

Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has been granted parole.

The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) convened on Friday to consider him for early release and announced his parole effective 5 January 2024.

He will be assigned a monitoring correctional services official to work with him until his sentence expires, and reportedly cannot move out of the Waterkloof area without notifying correctional services.

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“The parole placement decision was taken by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB), having assessed Mr Pistorius’ profile and other material submitted for parole consideration.

“Classified as a first-time offender with a positive support system, Oscar Pistorius’ parole placement is in line with Section 73 of the Correctional Services Act. Mr Pistorius will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections and will be subjected to supervision in compliance with parole conditions until his sentence expires,” the department said.

The former Olympic athlete is serving a sentence of 13 years and five months at the Kgosi Mampuru Prison after he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013. He opened fire at her while she was standing behind a locked bathroom door in his house.

He pleaded not guilty and denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.

Previous bid

The CSPB previously denied the 36-year-old’s bid for freedom in March after a communique from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) said he had not served the minimum amount of jail time required.

However, Pistorius approached the Constitutional Court, which in October confirmed the Paralympian had been eligible for parole for more than six months after he had served half of his sentence by 21 March.

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