Pistorius was found guilty of murder in 2017
Former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole from a jail in South Africa, almost 11 years after he murdered his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
On Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius shot Steenkamp, 29, multiple times through a bathroom door at their home in Pretoria, claiming that he thought she was a burglar.
The former Paralympic gold medallist had initially been found guilty of culpable homicide in 2014, but this verdict was overturned on appeal and he was convicted of murder in 2015.
He was sentenced to 13 years and five months behind bars in 2017, but under South African law all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole once they have served half their sentence.
Having been in prison since 2014, the 37-year-old will now live under strict conditions until his sentence expires in 2029, such as being confined to his home for certain hours of the day and being banned from drinking alcohol, the BBC reports.
Following Pistorius’s release, Reeva Steenkamp’s mother, June, said in a statement: “We have always known that parole is part of the South African legal system, and we have always said that the law must take its course.”
“Oscar Pistorius’s release on parole, subject to certain conditions, has affirmed Barry [her late husband] and my belief in the South African justice system.
“The conditions imposed by the parole board, which includes anger management courses and programs on gender-based violence, send out a clear message that gender based violence is taken seriously.”
She continued: “Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time?
“There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”
She added: “My only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy.”
Steenkamp was a successful model and TV star, having appeared in a reality show called Tropika Island of Treasure.
As a law graduate, she planned to start a law firm to help abused women after graduating.
She died almost instantly on Valentine’s Day 2013 when Pistorius shot through a bathroom door four times.
They had been in a relationship for three months.
Pistorius was charged with murder by the state, but was convicted of culpable homicide – also known as manslaughter – in 2014.
The following year though, the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa overturned his conviction to murder, after concluding that Pistorius’s version of events was inconsistent and improbable and that he had “fired without having a rational or genuine fear that his life was in danger”.
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