Oscar Pistorius, the former Paralympic champion and convicted murderer, has been granted parole after serving 10 years in prison for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door at his home in Pretoria, claiming he mistook her for an intruder.
His trial in 2013 was very dramatic. During the pathologist’s graphic testimony, which included gruesome autopsy photos, Pistorius openly wept, repeatedly gagged and at one point vomited. He was initially sentenced to six years for culpable homicide, but his conviction and sentence were later upgraded to murder and 13 years and five months by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Pistorius faced several legal challenges and delays in his parole application, which was finally approved by a parole board on Friday. He will be released from prison next year and will have to comply with certain conditions. The parole decision has been met with mixed reactions, as some see it as a sign of justice and rehabilitation, while others question Pistorius’s remorse and the leniency of the system.
On Friday, the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa granted him parole, effective Jan. 5. He will be subject to conditions, including that he not leave the area of Pretoria where he is set to live without permission from authorities.
Pistorius will also attend a program to deal with his anger issues and will have to perform community service. Pistorius’ parole conditions will be in place for five years, the Department of Corrections said. Serious offenders in South Africa must serve at least half of their sentence to be eligible for parole, which Pistorius has done.
Pistorius’ career as a Paralympic runner was marred with controversy. At the 2008 Paralympics, Pistorius won gold in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, setting world records in all three categories. He became the first amputee to compete in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games, after he began competing against non-disabled athletes, but many critics complained that his carbon-fiber blades gave him an unfair advantage.
He was born with a congenital defect that resulted in the amputation of both his feet when he was 11 months old. He used prosthetic limbs to run and earned the nickname “Blade Runner”. He won six gold medals over three Paralympic Games and made history by participating in the 2012 London Olympics.
He was one of the most influential and celebrated athletes in the world, and indeed, there was heated debate about whether he was getting preferential treatment at the trial and eventually, his sentence, which was deemed to be insufficient.
