Reeva Steenkamp’s Parents “Very Emotional” at Prospect of Meeting with Oscar Pistorius

Reeva Steenkamp’s parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, are apparently “very emotional” at the prospect of meeting up face-to-face with Oscar Pistorius (34), the man who killed their daughter in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 2013. As  reported on Monday, Pistorius is eligible for parole, and part of that process includes a successful ‘Victim Offender Dialogue’ with the victim’s parents.

The Steenkamp’s lawyer, Tania Koen, told SAPeople on Monday that “June and Barry have respect for the law (and) are willing to participate in the Victim Offender Dialogue as part of the process.” However the prospect is understandably daunting.

Today, Thursday 11 November, she told Reuters the experience would be “traumatic” for Reeva’s mom and dad.

“Barry has said many times that he has questions for Oscar.”

“The offender and the victim’s family are going to face each other, face to face, and then the offender will put forward whether he’s sorry or not or has regret or not,” said Koen. “I cannot speak for them, I don’t know what’s going to happen in that meeting. But the whole idea behind victim-offender dialogue is restorative justice, and one can only hope, we all know Barry has said many times that he has questions for Oscar.”

Koen said that at this point the couple is “taking it one step at a time, and one day at a time. They’re focusing now on – they know that a Victim Offender Dialogue is going to take place – they’re dealing with a lot of emotions, one can understand… they lost their daughter, she will never come back, now they have to face her perpetrator face-to-face. It’s different seeing a picture, or being in court and seeing the person there… This is going to be a face-to-face meeting, so yes it’s going to be traumatic for them… and they are dealing with quite a lot of emotions.”

Oscar, a double amputee, fatally shot their daughter Reeva – who was his girlfriend at the time – through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home in the early hours of 14 Feb 2013. The Paralympian was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her murder, although he has maintained that killing Reeva was a mistake, and that he thought she was an intruder hiding in the bathroom.

The SA Department of Correctional Services confirmed earlier this week that Pistorius is eligible for parole, after having served half of his sentence.

Oscar Pistorius’ Lawyer Says He’s ‘A Shadow of His Former Self’

Oscar’s lawyer Julian Knight, told Reuters on Thursday that “Oscar is a shadow of his former self” and will be “eternally haunted” by the events that led to his imprisonment.

Knight said Oscar has been a “model prisoner” with “no negative ticks” against his name, and that “his chances of re-offending are remote”.

He said when all that is taken into account, “all things indicate that he ought to be released on parole”.

Knight said: “Oscar is a shadow of his former self. He will never be the person he was prior to the incidents that led him into prison. He will never have the life that he had. And he will be eternally haunted by the circumstances that led to his imprisonment.”

He said that while Oscar may be in good health, “he will always have this over his head…  yes, he’s excited at the prospect of being released on parole, but he will never be able to undo what he’s done, and society will always be looking at him – no matter where he goes in life – with regard to what he has done. So that is a punishment that he will take with him to the grave.”

Pistorius, who was initially found guilty of culpable homicide in 2016 and sentenced to only five years, was convicted for murder in 2017 when the State appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Being eligible for parole, does not necessarily mean it will be granted.

WATCH Oscar’s lawyer says he’s a “shadow” of his former self

https://youtu.be/jU6X4zNzMm8