Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is scheduled for a parole hearing on Friday, 24 November.
The former South African Paralympic athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013 contends that he has already served a sufficient portion of his 13-year prison sentence to be eligible for parole.
Also read: Oscar Pistorius pursues parole release through Constitutional Court appeal
Pistorius, in his previous applications, maintained that considering the time he has served and the prevailing legal framework, he has been eligible for parole since 20 March this year.
The parole board, however, came to the conclusion that Pistorius had not served the SCA’s required minimum detention period when it rejected his earlier parole requests.
A series of challenges and rulings by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) led to confusion around when exactly his sentence became effective.
Tanie Koen, the attorney representing June Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother, told News24: ‘June [Steenkamp] will not be attending’, she added, ‘Advocate Annade Thiart-Hofmeyr will be reading June’s victim impact statement.’
Pistorius’s parole hearing comes after his Constitutional Court application was granted, affirming that his sentence began on 6 July 2016, and not on 24 November 2017, when the SCA extended it to 13 years and five months.
In a four-page judgement, the court determined that Pistorius had been eligible for parole since March 2023, as specified in Section 73(6) of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, as he had already by then completed half of his sentence.
On Monday, Singabakho Nxumalo, the spokesperson for correction services, stated that the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) for Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area will be considering the profile of Oscar Pistorius on Friday, 24 November.
Nxumalo said, ‘The CSPB shall conduct its business as per the procedure manual and decide whether the inmate is suitable or not for social reintegration. It is upon the CSPB to work out the placement date should an inmate be declared ready to be placed on parole.
He stressed that the Department of Correctional Services cannot predict the potential results of the proceeding. Correctional Supervision and Parole Board(s) operate as independent entities and should be permitted to carry out their responsibilities without any undue interference or influence.
At present, Pistorius is serving his prison sentence at Atteridgeville Prison, situated to the west of Pretoria.
Also read:
Picture: Supplied
