Paralympian record-breaker and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius may, by virtue of a rare legal mishap, be eligible for parole sooner than previously thought.
When will Oscar Pistorius be eligible for parole?
Pistorius has been serving his 13-year bid at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, in Pretoria. At first, the 34-year-old was convicted of culpable homicide by the North Gauteng High Court judge Thokozile Masipa in 2016, and sentenced to six years.
When the Paralympian lodged a review application with the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA), in 2017, the conviction was upgraded to murder and the sentenced increased to 13 years and five months.
Under this revised sentencing structure, Pistorius would be eligible for parole in 2024, after serving half of his jail term under the Correctional Services Act.
However, as explained by senior legal reporter Karyn Maughan, the SCA, in handing down its murder conviction, had failed to consider the fact that by then, the Paralympian had already served more than a year for killing his girlfriend and former supermodel Reeva Steenkamp.
This rare court misjudgment was stressed by Pistorius’ attorneys, who wrote to the SCA noting that contrary to the Department of Correctional Service’s assertion that the 34-year-old’s murder sentence was served from November 2017, he had actually been In jail for killing Steenkamp since July 2016.
Consequently, under this revised sentence, Pistorius would now be eligible for parole in March 2023 and not a year later as previously understood.
Here’s what the parole board must consider
However, the Paralympian has a few more hurdles to overcome before he can hold any hope of getting out of jail halfway into his 13-year sentence.
According to the DCS, the parole board will kick off its review process by engaging with the Steenkamp family, who, as reported by News24, is willing to meet with Pistorius, more than seven years after he fatally shot her on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The victim statements will play a heavy hand in the parole board’s decision on Pistorius’ release but that is not the only factor to take into account.
The athlete’s behaviour during his prison term will be scrutinised and considered in tandem with a review of his perception of the role he played in the murder of his girlfriend.
Pistorius has maintained, throughout his trial and subsequent conviction, on that fateful night, he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar, despite forensic evidence and clumps of circumstantial proof suggesting otherwise.
The decision will lie with the board in considering whether this stance, if he maintains it, is an indication of:
- remorse; or
- whether he has rehabilitated.
