Oscar Pistorius, the former Paralympic champion, makes another attempt for early release from a South African prison, where he has been imprisoned for nearly 13 years for the murder of his girlfriend.
Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp at his Pretoria home ten years ago, shocking the world, and has been in prison since 2014.
The parole hearing will take place at Atteridgeville prison, which is located just outside of Pretoria.
June Steenkamp, Ms. Steenkamp’s mother, is not opposed to parole.
June Steenkamp will also not be present at the hearing, according to her lawyer, Tania Koen. Her victim impact statement will be read aloud to the parole board.
It’s unknown how quickly the parole board will make a decision, but it may be short. If Pistorius is given parole, a date for his release will be decided.
The parole board will assess Pistorius’s conviction, his behavior in prison, and the risk he poses to the public, among other things.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was a successful model and law graduate.
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013, Pistorius shot four times through the door of a toilet cubicle at his Pretoria home, killing her.
Pistorius, now 37, testified at trial that he thought an intruder was in the house and that Ms. Steenkamp was still in bed.
He was convicted of murder in 2015 at the Supreme Court of Appeal, having only been convicted of the lesser offense of culpable homicide at trial.
He was convicted of murder in 2015 by the Supreme Court of Appeal after being convicted of culpable homicide at trial.
The case was described as a “human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions” by the justices.
Pistorius’s first parole hearing in March was canceled after authorities determined he had not served the minimum jail period required for release.
However, the Constitutional Court ruled last month that this was an error, resulting in the new hearing today.
When Pistorius was less than a year old, his lower legs were amputated. He later became a world-renowned athlete known as the ‘blade runner’ after relying on prosthetics.
At the Paralympics, he won several gold medals. At the London 2012 Olympics, he also competed against non-disabled athletes.
The murder of Reeva Steenkamp and the accompanying criminal process garnered global news.
