Infamous killer Oscar Pistorius was released on parole today after serving just half of his prison sentence for murdering his then-girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.
The South African shot Reeva four times through the bathroom door of their home in 2013, and claimed he thought she was an intruder.
The famous double-amputee sprinter made headlines all over the world when news of the horrific story broke.
The former Paralympian spent 11 years in prison after being found guilty of the crime, completing only half of his sentence.
In 2014, he was initially sentenced to five years in prison and was convicted of culpable homicide also known as manslaughter, and not murder.
He appealed this, but in 2016 the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the previous decision and convicted him of murder where he was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison.
Following his release on Friday, the victim’s mother, June Steenkamp, released a statement to the BBC and said: “Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time? There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”
June also detailed her wish for the future is to continue on her daughter’s lagacy.
“My only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy,” she said.
South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services released a statement today confirming that “Oscar Pistorius is now a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024. He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home.”
In an interview broadcast in 2016 on REELZ, an emotional Oscar addressed his actions in 2013.
“I did take Reeva’s life, and I have to live with it, I can smell the blood. I can feel the warmness of it on my hands. And to know that that’s your fault, that that’s what you’ve done.”
“And I understand the pain people feel that loved her and miss her, I feel that same pain, I feel that same hate for myself, I feel that same difficulty in understanding this. And I look back and I think – I always think, how did this possibly happen?”
Oscar will remain under DCS supervision until the end of his full sentence in December 2029.
During November’s parole board hearing, Reeva’s mother June said that she hopes Oscar’s “huge anger issues” were thoroughly addressed in prison, according to the BBC.
June said in the statement that she would be “concerned for the safety of any woman” who comes into contact with him.
