According to authorities, South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was denied parole on Friday because he has not yet completed his minimum prison sentence.
According to South African law, prison inmates can be considered for parole after serving half of their sentence and if they meet certain criteria, like good behavior.
Why Oscar Pistorius Is In Jail
Oscar Pis, the former Olympic sprinter was tried and imprisoned because he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door of his home in 2013.
In his defense, he denied that he intentionally killed her in a fit of anger and said that he had mistaken her for an intruder. He was then sentenced to 13 years and five months imprisonment.
A spokesperson for South Africa’s Correctional Services, Singabakho Nxumalo, revealed that Pistorius’ request for parole was not granted because he was not yet eligible – an issue clarified by the country’s top appeals court earlier this week.
“The parole board has granted Mr. Pistorius a further profile for August 2024 and the reason behind that is that Mr. Pistorius is yet to serve a minimum detention period as per the clarification order provided by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which was only provided to the department on the 28th of March 2023,” he said.
Steenkamp’s parents were happy with the decision not to grant Oscar Pistorius’s request for parole.
“While we welcome today’s decision, today is not a cause for celebration. We miss Reeva terribly and will do so for the rest of our lives. We believe in justice and hope that it continues to prevail,” the attorney to Steenkamp’s parents said.
Oscar Pistorius’s father, Henke Pistorius revealed that his son might be “repentant” when he told the UK’s Times newspaper that he now runs bible classes and prayer groups for prisoners, including the jail’s most feared gang leader.