The South African Department of Correctional Services announced today, Friday, that South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole after nearly 11 years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and he is now at home. Pistorius previously competed in the Paralympics and won two gold medals.
He shot and killed his girlfriend, model and law student Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day in 2013, and was sentenced to prison in 2014, despite repeatedly denying that he intended to kill Steenkamp. Following the crime that shocked a country long affected by violence against women, Pistorius, now 37, transformed from a celebrated Paralympic champion known for his carbon fiber prosthetic legs into a convicted murderer.
Initially, he was sentenced to five years in October 2014 for culpable homicide by the High Court. However, the High Court of Appeal convicted him of the more serious charge of murder in late 2015 after the prosecutors appealed. His total sentence was increased to six years in July 2016, which was less than half of the 15-year minimum sentence sought by the prosecution. In November 2017, the Supreme Court doubled his total sentence to 13 years and five months, stating that the six-year sentence was "shockingly lenient."
After the approval of his conditional release under South Africa's so-called restorative justice program, the Department of Correctional Services stated last November that "Mr. Pistorius will complete the remainder of his sentence in the community correctional system and will be subject to supervision according to the conditions of his parole until the end of his sentence." While some in South Africa believe that Pistorius' sentence was too lenient, others feel he has served enough time in prison.
