South African double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius who murdered his girlfriend was reportedly granted parole Friday roughly ten years after the crime.
Pistorius was set to be released from prison Jan. 5 after shooting Reeva Steenkamp dead in 2013, according to multiple reports, citing the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
“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 DCS said in a statement Friday.
Pistorius’ parole hearing at Atteridgeville prison was not challenged by the victim’s mother, June, according to the New York Post. She decided not to attend the hearing due to her belief that Pistorius was not fully rehabilitated and has “huge anger issues,” according to a letter written by June and read by a family representative Friday.
Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was granted parole Friday, 10 years after shooting his girlfriend through a bathroom door at his home in South Africa in a killing that jolted the country and the… https://t.co/pmaTyXs4vw
— CBCbrief – CBC News headlines (@CBCbrief) November 24, 2023
“I simply cannot muster the energy to face him again at this stage,” June reportedly said.
The victim’s deceased father, Barry, was “devastated” by his daughter’s death, June wrote in her letter, according to the outlet. Pistorius allegedly begged for forgiveness in 2022 when Barry met with him during the parole process. (RELATED: California Appeals Court Rules Manson Family Murderer Should Be Paroled)
“My dear Barry left this world utterly devastated by the thought that he had failed to protect his daughter,” June wrote. “The only hope he had left, was that Oscar would find it in himself to eventually tell the full truth.”
The victim was killed on Valentine’s Day after four shots fired through a bathroom door struck her, the outlet reported. Pistorius later said he thought Steenkamp was a burglar.
“I do not believe Oscar’s version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar,” June said.
Pistorius will remain on parole until Dec. 5, 2029, the outlet reported. He will attend anger management and “gender-based violence issues” therapy while completing community service.