Former South African double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, was denied parole on Friday.
Pistorius made his bid for parole in a closed-door hearing of the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board in South Africa. But the board denied his request, saying that Pistorius had not yet served enough time to justify an early release, Fox News reported.
The athlete, known as “Blade Runner” for his spring-like prosthetics, was sentenced in two phases to what amounted to 13 years and five months in jail for the fatal shooting of his 29-year-old girlfriend. In his defense, Pistorius claimed that he mistook her for a prowler in the early morning hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
A picture taken on January 26, 2013, shows Olympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius posing next to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. South Africa’s Olympic sprinter Oscar “Blade Runner” Pistorius was taken into police custody on February 14, 2013, after allegedly shooting dead his model girlfriend, having mistaken her for an intruder at his upscale home. (WALDO SWIEGERS/AFP Photo via Getty Images)
According to the court documents, Pistorius fired his 9 mm pistol four times through a bathroom door with Steenkamp inside, killing her. He claimed he was unaware that Steenkamp had gotten out of bed early that morning to use the bathroom.
But prosecutors claim that the wounds and trajectory of the bullets show that the woman was cowering in fear on the floor as he showered her with gunfire. And neighbors said they heard the couple fighting before the shooting.
The victim’s family petitioned the board to reject his application for parole. The Steenkamp family’s lawyer argued that Pistorius is not ready for release and said, “Unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he is rehabilitated.”
“He’s the killer of their daughter. For them, it’s a life sentence,” Steenkamp lawyer Tania Koen said. “For them, it’s 10 missed birthdays, 10 Mother’s Days, 10 Father’s Days, 10 Christmases.”
South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius reacts as he sits in the dock during his sentencing hearing at the Pretoria High Court for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago, in Pretoria on June 13, 2016. (THEMBA HADEBE/AFP via Getty Images)
Under South African law, Pistorius is eligible for parole after he has served half his sentence. While it might appear that he has served half his sentence already, the court maintained that a series of appeals pushed back the halfway point. He was initially sentenced to six years in prison in 2014. But in 2017, a second court increased his sentence to more than 13 years.
Pistorius can re-apply for parole in August of 2024, Fox added.
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