Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison after nearly a decade behind bars for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, after winning his case at a parole board hearing.
The former Paralympic champion shot and killed his partner in 2013, and was jailed for 13 years for her murder in 2016.
But today, he was granted parole and will be released on January 5, said South Africa’s Department of Corrections. He will be given therapy for anger management and will remain under supervision until the end of his sentence.
A department spokesperson said: “The conditions, what’s important about them, is that they are there to assist an inmate to adjust, and also to address if there are still other areas that require attention.”
Rob Matthews, spokesperson for Ms Steenkamp’s mother June, addressed the media after the decision. He said: “The parole board are of the opinion that he met the criteria for release on parole and I believe June will be fine with that, but I can’t read inside her mind, I can only interpret what she said.”
“My personal opinion is that part of the road to rehabilitation is acknowledging what you have done and being accountable for what you have done and being man enough to say ‘I’ve done it’, and all the consequences that go with it, not just lip service because it’s easy to say sorry when you’ve been caught.”
Today’s hearing was the 37-year-old’s second bid for parole after a hearing in March wrongly ruled him ineligible for early release due to an error over when his prison sentence officially started.
