Last Valentine’s Day behind bars: Oscar Pistorius eligible for parole

Tuesday, 14 February 2023 marks 10 years since Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. It also may be his final Valentine’s Day behind bars.

It’s been a decade since the death of model Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, and the man who murdered her – boyfriend Oscar Pistorius – is facing the possibility of early release via a parole application.

Steenkamp was shot and killed on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Pistorius has served more than half of his 13 years and five months sentence, making him eligible for parole.

According to his attorney, the former athlete could apply for a parole hearing as early as next month.

ALSO READ: ‘Forgave him, take it back’: Reeva’s parents reject Pistorius parole

OSCAR PISTORIUS UP FOR PAROLE NEXT MONTH

According to the SABC, Oscar Pistorius will spend his final Valentine’s Day behind bars after he officially becomes eligible for parole next month.

In October 2022, Oscar Pistorius made headlines after his parole hearing was revoked over a miscalculation over his sentence. According to Beeld, this followed a discrepancy over the dates of when his sentence began.

In South Africa, offenders can apply for parole after serving half their sentence.

During the former Paralympian’s complicated murder trial, he received not one but three different rulings.

In 2017, Pistorius was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Due to the time already served, this was amended to 13 years and five months behind bars

According to claims made by Pistorius’s attorney Julian Knight, he received two directives from the SCA, which claimed that the sentence be antedated to 2014, the year the offender was originally sentenced.

ALSO READ: ‘I didn’t say I forgive you’: Reeva’s dad details Oscar Pistorius meeting

In his application, Pistorius and his attorney argued that, as such, he was eligible to be considered for parole in February 2021, as they believed he had served half of his prison sentence.

However, the prison where he spent the majority of his sentence, claims that Pistorius will only become eligible in March 2023.

Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide in October 2014 after the Valentine’s Day tragedy.

This was later upgraded to murder in December 2015.

He was handed a six-year prison sentence.

However, the Supreme Court of Appeal increased his jail term to 13 years and five months following an unsuccessful appeal in November 2017.

A REFORMED CONVICT?

Meanwhile, prison officials, social workers, and psychologists have come out to support Oscar Pistorius’s parole application.

While Pistorius gets his ducks in a row over the possibility of an early release, officials have offered insight into his life behind bars.

The 35-year-old has reportedly been keeping himself busy by joining a book club, working as a cleaner, and being allocated as a tractor driver, according to his unit manager whom News24 refers to as a Mrs Makgatho.

She told the publication of Pistorius: “He is a trustworthy individual who can defuse tense situations.”

She added that he was  “ready to be re-integrated into society and will be a positive influence in the community”. This after she claims he reportedly attended his recommended programmes as part of his sentence.

ALSO READ: ‘Trustworthy, positive’: Why officials claim Oscar Pistorius deserves parole

Also recommending Pistorius’ early release on parole was the prison’s sports, arts, recreation, and culture coordinator TP Hlako.

“I can gladly say without fear nor contradiction that he [Pistorius] will be able to contain himself outside if faced with challenges,” Hlako told News24.

“We have managed to train him on how to deal with all types of anxiety that are negative. It is, therefore, my submission that should an opportunity arise for him to be given a chance to finish the remainder of his sentence outside, he should be granted such.”

REEVA’S PARENTS ARE OPPOSING EARLY RELEASE

Meanwhile, the parents of Reeva Steenkamp are strongly opposing Oscar Pistorius’ early release.

According to June and Barry Steenkamp, this is over their belief that Pistorius has shown “no remorse” for their daughter’s death.

Barry – Reeva’s frail dad – claimed that Oscar has also refused to acknowledge his intent to kill the model. This, after he met with Pistorius last year as part of the Victim-Offender Dialogue, facilitated by the Department of Correctional Services.

The programme forms part of rehabilitating offenders who are being considered for parole. It seeks to offer closure for the victim’s family, and a means for the offender to seek forgiveness.

ALSO READ: ‘I don’t want to see him’: Reeva’s mom refused Oscar Pistorius parole meet

He told the publication: “I told Oscar directly that he had shot my daughter deliberately, and he denied it. He stuck to his story that he thought it was an intruder.

“After all these years, we are still waiting for him to admit he did it in anger. That is all we wanted”.

Barry added: “If he told me the truth, he would have been a free man by now, and I would have let the law take its course over his parole. But I was wasting my time. He is a murderer. He should remain in jail”.