By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
OLYMPIC sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been released from a South African prison on parole, nearly 11 years after the slaying of his girlfriend.
Pistorius, on Friday Jan. 5, 2024, left Atteridgeville Correctional Center near Pretoria to begin his new life of supervised freedom, which will require him to get permission from authorities for many of the basic events of life.
In a statement, the South African Development of Correctional services said it was able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024.
He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home.
Recall that Pistorius, 37, was sentenced in 2014 for shooting his 29-year-old girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, to death on February 14, 2013.
Pistorius and Steenkamp at an event in Johannesburg, South African (2012)
Steenkamp was a model and a law school graduate at that time; she was fatally shot while locked in the bathroom of Pistorius home in Pretoria.
Reeva’s mother, June Steenkamp, said Pistorius’ release reaffirmed her faith in the South African justice system, adding that the family had never come to terms with her death.
“Now, almost 11 years later, the pain is still raw and real, and my dear late husband Barry and I have never been able to come to terms with Reeva’s death, or the way she died.
“There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back,” she said.
Steenkamp further revealed in her statement that Pistorius’ release is subject to him attending anger management courses and programs on gender-based violence while in prison.
Stonix News gathered that Pistorius spent some time under house arrest during the long appeals process in his case before he was sentenced to nearly thirteen-and-half-year in prison for Steenkamp’s murder.
Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was an infant, had gained worldwide fame with his inspiring athletic achievements.
He, however, became a world-class sprinter using J-shaped, carbon-fiber prosthetics.
He went on to win multiple gold medals at the Paralympics of 2004, 2008 and 2012. He reached the height of his fame at the 2012 London Olympics.
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