Oscar Pistorius up for parole a decade after murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in South Africa

Johannesburg — Former Olympic runner and Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius is up for parole. South Africa’s parole board meets Friday to decide if Pistorius will be released from prison more than 10 years after he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. 

The board will consider his conduct and disciplinary record in prison, his participation in educational or other training courses during the last decade of incarceration, and his mental and physical state to assess whether Pistorius, now 36, would still pose a threat to public safety.

The murder trial in 2014 kept viewers around the world glued to the live courtroom broadcast as prosecutors argued that the elite athlete dad deliberately shot his girlfriend through a locked bathroom door in the middle of the night.

Pistorius maintained throughout that it was a terrible accident and that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder. He was ultimately convicted of murder after prosecutors successfully appealed an initial conviction for culpable homicide, which is comparable to manslaughter. 

He was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison in 2017, which took into account just over a year he had already served during the appeal process. 

Social workers have already inspected his uncle Arno Pistorius’ property in Pretoria, which is where he would serve out the remainder of his sentence if parole is granted.  

The terms of parole vary in South Africa but could include an electronic tag to monitor his movements and a ban on making money from media interviews about his incarceration.   

Steenkamp’s mother June is expected to address the parole board. She has indicated previously that, along with her husband, she will oppose Pistorius’ early release, arguing that unless he admits he deliberately killed their daughter, he cannot be deemed to have shown remorse. 

Pistorius was last up for parole in 2021, but his request was denied on technical grounds as he had not met with Steenkamp’s family as required under South Africa’s rules for parole.

The year before the murder, Pistorius was a star at the London Olympics, achieving global recognition for becoming the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied sprinters. His prowess on twin carbon-fiber prosthetics earned him the nickname “Blade Runner.”