Killer Pistorius set to be freed from jail after just one year
OSCAR Pistorius is to be freed from jail one year into a fiveyear sentence for shooting his girlfriend dead.
The Paralympian sprinter, 28, is due to be released and placed under house arrest next Tuesday after officials said he would be granted parole.
His freedom comes a fortnight before prosecutors will appeal against his manslaughter conviction, saying he should have been found guilty of murder.
Yesterday’s decision was opposed by the family of model and l aw graduate Reeva Steenkamp, whom he gunned down on Valentine’s Day 2013. Pistorius was convicted of culpa- ble homicide – the equivalent of manslaughter – in September last year after saying he shot Ms Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door as he mistook her for an intruder.
Her parents claim Pistorius killed their daughter on purpose – and have contested his release.
‘They are not surprised at all – it was expected,’ said Tania Koen, lawyer for June and Barry Steenkamp. ‘ But it doesn’t change anything in their lives. Their daughter is still not coming back.
‘Whether Pistorius is incarcer- ated or released on parole, their daughter is still gone.’
South Africa’s department of correctional services said: ‘The parole board considered all submissions, including the offender’s profile report, the directives of the review board and the submission of the victim’s family.’
It gave no details about Pistorius’s parole conditions except that they included ‘continued psychotherapy’ and firearms restrictions.
Lawyers for the runner had claimed he was treated ‘unfairly’ when he was denied parole in August – despite serving a sixth of his sentence as required under South African law.