Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius believes he is eligible for parole because he has served half his prison sentence. This comes after he was found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius seeking early release on parole: Here’s what we know
According to Sky News, Pistorius is going to court to seek early release on parole.
The South African athlete is serving a 13-year sentence after shooting and killing Steenkamp in their home on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
The 35-year-old has asked the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to compel the chairperson of the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre to hold a parole hearing for him.
According to Pistorius and his lawyer, Julian Knight, he has served half of the 15 years meted out to him by the Supreme Court of Appeal and, thus, is entitled to be considered for parole.
However, prison authorities say he will have only served half his sentence in March next year.
Pistorius was initially serving just six years. However, the South African court added more years to his sentence in 2017. The court upped his sentence to 13 years and five months. Oscar was convicted on a charge of culpable homicide.
This, in effect, meant that he would be eligible for parole in 2023. Though at that stage, he had already served more than 500 days slightly behind bars.
Correctional Services and Knight had issued letters to the Supreme Court to clear up the confusion. However, they did not hear from the Supreme Court during this time.
Pistorius has done his part, apart from being a model prisoner. He has met Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva, as part of the victim/offender dialogue required by the parole board.
Pistorius was transferred to a prison in Gqebera, in the Eastern Cape, in late 2021 to meet the Steenkamp family.
He met Steenkamp in June 2022 after the father refused to come eye-to-eye with her daughter’s killer.
No date has been set for the hearing before the high court as yet.