South African double-amputee Paralympic and Olympic sprinter, Oscar Pistorius, was released on parole on Friday, more than a decade after shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in a killing that stunned the world.
In November, a parole board granted Pistorius’ petition, citing the fact that he had completed half of his 13-year term for shooting Steenkamp, making him eligible under South African law.
Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services, informed that Pistorius was freed from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, west of Pretoria, on Friday morning.
He will be subject to parole terms until the end of his sentence in 2029.
Steenkamp’s mother stated in a statement Friday that her sole wish following Pistorius’ release is that she be allowed to live her remaining years “in peace.”
Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through a locked bathroom door in his home in Pretoria on February 14, 2013. He has maintained that he did not kill her in a fit of anger during a Valentine’s Day argument, as prosecutors argued, and said instead he had mistaken her for an intruder.
During the trial, which garnered global attention, Pistorius pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder and a firearms charge associated with Steenkamp’s killing.
He was initially convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five years. But a higher court overturned the conviction and upgraded it to murder a year later, increasing his sentence to six years in prison.
The ruling was appealed by prosecutors who claimed the sentence was too lenient. Pistorius’ sentence was increased to 13 years and five months by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal in 2017.
Pistorius became eligible for parole in March 2023, due to a law for inmates who have served half of their sentence and met conditions such as good behavior. The legislation is part of the country’s “Restorative Justice” process, which gives offenders the opportunity to “acknowledge and take responsibility for their actions.”
According to the DCS, Pistorius will complete the remainder of his sentence in the country’s community corrections system.
According to reports, citing a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, he will be required to attend gender-based violence programs and undergo anger management therapy sessions.
The DCS stated in a statement Wednesday that “general parole conditions” will apply, including Pistorius’s requirement to be home at specific times of day. He will be barred from consuming alcohol or illegal substances and will be compelled to engage in programs identified by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board.
“Just like other parolees, Pistorius is restricted from conducting media interviews,” the statement went on to say.
