Former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was denied parole on Friday March 31 and will have to remain in jail for at least a year and four more months, after it was ruled he had not served his sentence. “minimum holding period” required to be released following his conviction for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
The parole board responsible for considering Mr Pistorius’ application has decided that he can reapply in August 2024, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said in a statement. The commission cited a new clarification of Oscar Pistorius’ sentence issued by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal three days ago, the statement said.
Thirteen years and five months in prison
The result came as a surprise, but there have been legal wrangles over when Mr Pistorius should be eligible for parole due to the string of appeals in his case. He was first convicted of culpable homicide, a charge comparable to manslaughter, in 2014, but the case was subject to several appeals before Mr Pistorius was finally sentenced to thirteen years and five months in prison for murder in 2017.
Serious offenders must serve at least half of their sentence to qualify for parole in South Africa. Lawyers for Mr Pistorius had gone to court to argue that he was now eligible because he had served the required part of his time in prison since the end of 2014, following his culpable homicide conviction.
June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, attended Oscar Pistorius’ hearing on Friday to oppose his parole. Reeva Steenkamp’s parents say they still don’t believe Pistorius’ version of their daughter’s murder. Mr Pistorius has always claimed to have killed Steenkamp at dawn on Valentine’s Day 2013 after mistaking her for a dangerous intruder in his house. The Steenkamps said they believed he intentionally killed her after a nightly argument and wanted him to remain in jail.