Paralympian Pistorius released on parole
BBC – Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been freed on parole from a South African jail, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Officials confirmed Pistorius was “at home” on Friday morning, having served half of his more than 13-year sentence.
Ms Steenkamp’s mother said she accepted the decision to release the former athlete – but added her family was the one “serving a life sentence”.
Pistorius, now 37, shot Ms Steenkamp multiple times in 2013 through a door.
The double amputee later claimed he had mistaken her for a burglar.
Pistorius was eventually convicted of murder in 2015 after an appeal court overturned an earlier verdict of culpable homicide.
Under South African law, all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole once they have served half their total sentence, which for Pistorius was finally set in 2017 at 13 years and five months.
He will live under strict conditions – including being unable to speak to the media – until his sentence expires in 2029.
Pistorius first went to prison in October 2014, shortly after his initial conviction. There was a period between 2015 and 2016 when he was released under house arrest before his conviction was changed and sentenced lengthened.
Pistorius’s lower legs were amputated when he was less than a year old. He subsequently relied on prosthetics and became a world-renowned athlete known as the “blade runner”.
He had a successful career on the track, first at the Paralympics, winning multiple golds, and then cementing his reputation after competing against non-disabled athletes at the London Olympics in 2012. The murder of Ms Steenkamp just six months later, and the subsequent trials, dominated headlines around the world.