Disgraced South African Paralympian, Oscar Pistorius, is
eligible for release on parole after serving half his sentence for killing his
girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Paralympic gold medallist may now meet her parents in
South Africa’s ‘restorative justice’ parole process before he is considered for
release, Dailymail reports.
Pistorius was convicted for manslaughter for the killing of
Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013 after he fired four times through the door
of his bedroom toilet.
He claimed he had mistaken Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model
and law graduate, who was famous in her own right in South Africa, for an
intruder but was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in
prison.
The sentence was increased in 2015 to 13 years and five
months after he was found guilty of murder on appeal. But Pistorius may now be
released on parole after serving six years in a low-security jail in Pretoria.
South Africa’s department of correctional services said in a
statement that they were setting up a meeting between Steenkamp’s parents and
Pistorius as part of the ‘restorative justice’ process.
The statement said offenders ‘must acknowledge and take
responsibility for their actions and that both parties must have the
opportunity ‘to reconcile or an apology tendered’.
The Correctional Services spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo,
said the department was ‘not yet there’ on possible parole for Pistorius.
‘They [inmates] have to appear before a parole board. A
determination is then made about whether they are ready to be sent back into
the community or continue to stay in prison serving the remainder of their
sentence.’
A lawyer for Steenkamp’s parents, June and Barry, told
national broadcaster SABC they ‘would like to participate in the
victim-offender dialogue’.
“June has always said that she has forgiven Oscar, however
that doesn’t mean that he mustn’t pay for what he has done. Barry battles with
that a bit, but that is something he will have to voice at the appropriate
time,” lawyer Tania Koen said.
She added Pistorius is not entitled to parole, only to be
considered for release on parole.
June told local media in 2018 that she had forgiven Oscar
for murdering her daughter but believed that he should still be punished.
Pistorius was the first double amputee to race in the
Olympics competing in the 2012 London games becoming a role model for the
disabled worldwide.
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