Oscar Pistorius seeks to be released from prison after 10 years in prison for the femicide of his partner

The athlete oscar pistoriowhich is fulfilling a 15-year prison sentence for killing his girlfriend in 2013model reeva steekamp, could regain his freedom in the coming days. As a previous step, the South African sprinter will appear on Friday before a Parole Board which will have to consider whether to grant him this benefit.

Pistorius, 36, will appear before the board of the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Center (which includes representatives of the prison service, police and civilians) in a hearing to be held behind closed doors, South African media reported on Thursday. After that, it will take the agency a few days to deliberate and decide whether to grant him parolewhich in that country can be requested by those who have served at least 50 percent of their sentence.

“A minimum prison term that an inmate must serve is an important milestone in the rehabilitation process for those in our care, as it also serves as the cardinal point of being considered for parole and this must be done at the time Right”South African Department of Corrections spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo explained in October 2022 when asked about the athlete’s situation.

Last year, Pistorius applied to the Pretoria High Court to force authorities at the Department of Corrections to hold a parole hearing. In the brief filed by his lawyers, he said he had done everything in his power to rehabilitate himself and show total remorse.

The athlete was initially sentenced in October 2014 to five years’ imprisonment for manslaughter in a trial that caught the attention of the media around the world. In that trial, Judge Thokozile Masipa held that there were exhausting circumstances.

The prosecution appealed that ruling and in November 2015 South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the manslaughter conviction, Pistorius said guilty of murder and sent the file back to the lower court for a new ruling. In July 2016, Judge Masipa sentenced the athlete to six years in prison for murder.

However, after another appeal from the Prosecutor’s Office, in November 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal raised the sentence to 15 yearsthe minimum required by South African law in cases of homicide except in exceptional situations.

In practice, that sentence meant 13 years and 5 months in prison, net of the time that Pistorius (who had spent a period in temporary release and another under house arrest) had already spent in prison.

Last July, the Department of Corrections confirmed that a meeting between Pistorius and Steenkamp’s parents had taken place the previous month. The encounter was part of the athlete’s rehabilitation process, one of the requirements to apply for probation.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria on February 14, 2013.when it was at the height of his fame and had amassed a fortune thanks to his sporting career, during which he had obtained world records in the 100, 200 and 400 meters for athletes with double amputation of the lower limbs and had participated in the London 2012 Olympics in the 400 meters and in the 4×400 post (he did with two in carbon).

The sprinter shot his partner four times through the home’s bathroom door. During his trial, his defense alleged that Pistorius panicked and mistook the 29-year-old model for a burglar who had entered the house through the bathroom window, but his arguments were ultimately dismissed.