Oscar Pistorius to get early release?

As per the ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal, Oscar Pistorius should only become eligible for parole in August 2024, but Pistorius is contesting this.

LAWYER RECEIVED DCS LETTER

Pistorius’ lawyer, Conrad Dormehl, told The Citizen that he received a letter from DCS notifying him of the parole hearing. The letter was in response to enquiries made by Dormehl about the plans around Pistorius’ parole consideration.

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“The gist of the content of the letter advises us that they have provided an opportunity for the victim’s parents to make submissions to the parole board, and that they will advise us of a date on which parole consideration will be heard, but that they intend doing so before the 30th of November 2023,” Dormehl said.

ALSO READ: DCS: Oscar Pistorius wrongly DENIED parole, claim new docs

PAROLE DISCREPANCIES

The Constitutional Court allegedly confirmed that Pistorius has been eligible for parole since 21 March this year. The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) denied the request in March because it said he had not served the minimum amount of jail time required.

According to The Citizen, Pistorius insisted that his second murder sentence should have been antedated to 6 July 2016 – the day he started serving his first murder sentence. He requested that the Constitutional Court attend to what he called the “utter confusion” surrounding his eligibility for parole.

“Every day that I am detained and prohibited from applying for parole, in circumstances that I am already eligible for parole and might be successful to obtain parole, constitutes an infringement on my fundamental rights,” Pistorius said.

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ALSO READ: DCS: Oscar Pistorius wrongly DENIED parole, claim new docs

WILL REEVA’S FAMILY OPPOSE PAROLE FOR OSCAR PISTORIUS? 

SABC News reported that Tania Koen, Reeva Steenkamp’s family lawyer, said that they will not be opposing the parole application. Koen told The Citizen that the Steenkamp family feels that Pistorius has the same rights as any other offender. 

“We’ve always said, and you will recall Barry’s words were always, the law must take its course and the law is taking its course. We agree with the decision of the Constitutional Court that he has served half the sentence because in our calculations he was eligible to be considered in March 2023,” said Koen.

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