A South African court has granted parole to Oscar Pistorius, a famous former Paralympic athlete, who is serving a prison sentence for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February 2013. In March a court had denied Pistorius parole probation, but this decision was overturned on Friday after an error in the previous trial was discovered. It was initially thought that probation could be requested from August 2024, but it was later clarified that it could be requested as early as March.
Pistorius’ trial was a closely followed and rather complicated one. In 2014 he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for manslaughter and shortly afterwards transferred to house arrest. In 2015, however, the appeal process converted the conviction to voluntary homicide, and the sentence was increased first to 6 years, then in 2017 to 13 years and five months, a sentence also confirmed by the South African Supreme Court.
Pistorius is 36 years old and is a well-known former Paralympic champion. He was the first athlete with prosthetics in both lower limbs to participate in the Olympics, in 2012 in London. In 2013 he shot her partner Reeva Steenkamp, killing her. During the trial, his lawyers said Pistorius had mistaken Steenkamp for a thief. According to the prosecution, however, Steenkamp’s killing was the result of an argument: several witnesses had in fact said they had heard noises coming from the house before the shooting.
2023-11-24 12:11:46
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