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A South African parole board on Friday denied an early launch for Oscar Pistorius, the South African double-amputee whose historic run on the 2012 Summer time Olympics was rapidly overshadowed by a conviction for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
Mr. Pistorius has served virtually half of his 15-year sentence and was looking for parole, arguing that he had been rehabilitated. However the board denied his petition basically on a technicality — as a result of it was decided that he had not accomplished the minimal required detention interval, in line with the Division of Correctional Companies.
On Valentine’s Day a decade in the past, Mr. Pistorius shot by a toilet door in his luxurious residence in Pretoria, killing Ms. Steenkamp, a 29-year-old mannequin and legislation faculty graduate, whom he had been courting for a number of months. Mr. Pistorius argued that he thought an intruder had damaged into his residence and was hiding within the toilet, and he solely realized that it was his girlfriend after he opened the door.
Ms. Steenkamp’s household has rejected Mr. Pistorius’s model of occasions and opposed his launch on parole. “Except he comes clear, they don’t really feel that he’s rehabilitated,” mentioned Tania Koen, a lawyer for Ms. Steenkamp’s household. “He hasn’t advised the reality.”
Ms. Koen mentioned that Ms. Steenkamp’s mom, June — who had addressed the parole board on Friday and requested them to not grant parole — was elated by the board’s determination.
Simply months earlier than the killing, Mr. Pistorius had been heralded as an inspiration internationally when he ran the 400 meters on the 2012 Olympics in London, turning into the primary double-amputee to compete within the Olympic Video games. He turned generally known as the Blade Runner for the carbon fiber prosthetics that he ran on.
Mr. Pistorius’s five-month trial captivated the globe, and in South Africa surfaced painful conversations about violence towards girls and racial fears.
The parole board’s denial was on technical grounds, primarily based on the size of time that Mr. Pistorius has served in jail. He went to jail in July 2016, and could be eligible for parole midway by his sentence.
Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesman for the corrections division, struggled to elucidate to reporters on Friday why the parole listening to was allowed to proceed although Mr. Pistorius had not served sufficient time to be eligible.
His parole will probably be reconsidered in August 2024, Mr. Nxumalo mentioned.
Mr. Pistorius has maintained that he was remorseful for the killing. He met with Ms. Steenkamp’s father, Barry, final yr, however the father maintained that Mr. Pistorius was not being truthful in regards to the homicide.
Prosecutors argued that Mr. Pistorius killed Ms. Steenkamp in a jealous rage after an argument. Textual content messages revealed through the trial confirmed that the 2 had a risky relationship, with Ms. Steenkamp accusing Mr. Pistorius of matches of jealousy. In a single message she despatched simply weeks earlier than her killing, Ms. Steenkamp mentioned she was petrified of Mr. Pistorius typically and of how he snapped at her.
Mr. Pistorius was initially convicted of manslaughter — not homicide — however prosecutors appealed and his conviction was upgraded to homicide. The choose presiding over the case, Thokozile Matilda Masipa, sentenced him to 6 years in jail, however an appeals courtroom later elevated the sentence to fifteen years, the beneficial minimal for non-premeditated homicide.
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