Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee Paralympic athlete and Olympic sprinter who murdered his girlfriend in 2013, was released from prison after serving nine years.
South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) issued a statement confirming Pistorius had been released on parole from Atteridgeville Correctional Centre on Friday and had arrived at his home.
“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) [is] able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024,” the statement said. “He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home.”
Pistorius will be staying at the residence of his uncle Arnold Pistorius until the end of his parole in 2029, according to CNN. The home in Pretoria reportedly has armed guards, electronic defenses, and attack dogs.
PAROLE PLACEMENT FOR OSCAR PISTORIUS pic.twitter.com/p0YytgoNfe
— The Department Correctional Services 🇿🇦 (@DCS_ZA) January 5, 2024
The release of Pistorius comes after a parole board granted his early release in November 2023 due to him serving half of his 13-year sentence in the murder of girlfriend and model, Reeva Steenkamp, 29. Pistorius initially became eligible for parole in March 2023 under a law that allows inmates who have served half their sentence and engaged in good behavior to qualify for early release.
The Paralympic athlete shot Steenkamp four times through a closed bathroom door in his home on Valentine’s Day.
Pistorius claimed during his trial in 2014 that he mistook her as being an intruder, while prosecutors argued he had killed her because he was angry during a fight.
The Olympic athlete pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder, as well as a firearms charge, according to the outlet.
He was initially sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 for manslaughter, however, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal upgraded the sentence to six years in prison after finding Pistorius guilty of murder.
This was then appealed by prosecutors and Pistorius’ sentence was increased to 13 years and five months in prison in 2017.
DCS clarified in a statement that as part of Pistorius’ early release, he will be required to attend gender-based violence programs and attend therapy for anger management, according to the outlet.
As part of his parole, Pistorius will be required to be home for various hours of the day, and will not be allowed to consume alcohol or any other prohibited substances.
Steenkamp’s mother, June, has been vocal regarding the release of Pistorius, noting that she is “not convinced that Oscar has been rehabilitated.”
“Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof,” Steenkamp’s mother said. “Nobody can claim to have remorse if they are not able to engage fully with the truth.”
June Steenkamp has described the pain from the loss of her daughter on Feb. 14, 2013, as being “still raw and real.”
“My dear late husband Barry and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva’s death or the way she died,” June Steenkamp said.
