Former sports superstar Oscar Pistorius is perhaps the world’s most notorious murderer. Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole from a South African prison nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Officials confirmed Pistorius was ‘at home’ on Friday morning and has served half of his more than 13-year sentence.
Oscar Pistorius, now 37, shot and killed his girlfriend Steenkamp multiple times in 2013.
The amputee had claimed that he did not kill his girlfriend on purpose but had shot her suspecting a thief.
Steenkamp’s mother has said on Oscar’s release that she accepts the decision to release the former athlete, but added that her family is serving a ‘life sentence’.
Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times while she was in the bathroom on Valentine’s Day 2013.
It should be noted that earlier he was sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of accidental killing. After which he was released from jail after a year and had to spend the remaining five years of his sentence under house arrest. He was convicted.
Almost a decade ago, the twists and turns of his trial captured everyone’s attention, and his release is now big news in South Africa and around the world.
He won six gold medals in three Paralympic Games and made history by becoming the first disabled sprinter to compete in the Olympics in London in 2012, but Pistorius is now known as a convicted murderer.
He’s no longer a celebrity, he’s trying to make a comeback after being out of the fashion world, or he’s battling his own personal vices. His career as an athlete is over.
Brands will not want to sponsor them. He will not even be seen as a sports commentator.
Dubbed the ‘Blade Runner’, the 37-year-old is said to physically look very different from the players people remember.
His sentence will end in 2029. Until then they will be subject to restrictions and if they violate these restrictions they can be sent back to prison.
These restrictions include being at home at set times each day, attending compulsory programs and not being allowed to use alcohol or illegal drugs.
Like others on parole in South Africa, he will also be barred from giving media interviews.
But their high profile makes this release unusual. Much of the public debate and commentary in recent times has emphasized the need to focus on the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators.
When a person is convicted of murder after a trial, the killer’s statement, which can be very distressing to the victim’s family, usually disappears from public discourse, and the killer often languishes in prison for decades. Lives.
The killer in this case is known worldwide and is in his 30s and has been released after less than eight years in prison.
A law graduate and a successful model, Steenkamp’s future was taken away from her at the age of just 29. The ban on media interviews for Pistorius will eventually be lifted and he will be free to speak after that. Their fame means they will get a platform.
Gwen Guscott, a close friend of Steenkamp’s, believes he will eventually try to use the media attention to tell his version of events once again.
“They are coming out and talking to the public and maybe stirring our emotions the wrong way, it will take us all back to the past,” he said.
Steenkamp’s mother, June, said in a statement during a parole hearing in November last year that she did not believe Pistorius had gone insane.
They also did not believe his story in which he claimed that the night he shot his daughter he thought a robber had entered.
Jon Steenkamp added, “I don’t know anyone who believes that.”
He said that ‘for Oscar to be healed, it is necessary for someone to be honestly informed about the full truth of his crime and its consequences.’
He said, “No one can claim remorse until he is able to speak completely truthfully.” If one does not show remorse, then there can be no thought of restoration.’
Jon Steenkamp’s husband Barry died last year. She says her daughter’s death left her heartbroken.
Pistorius’ release, and the prospect of future publicity it brings, will not be welcomed by the Steenkamp family.
In South Africa, you hear different views on the matter, with people from the same social circles or families expressing very different views on their crime.
Some people forget that they were convicted of murder on appeal, previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a less serious crime equivalent to murder, and that people’s memories of the evidence inevitably fade.
Under South African law, all convicts are eligible for parole after serving half their sentences. However, Bula Adonis of the South African human rights group Women for Change says Pistorius’ early release shows that ‘when it comes to femicide or gender-based violence, the killers have no choice. Softness is being normalized in the matter.’
She feels that the fact that he was once a national hero still affects some people’s views.
“I think it’s time we challenge ourselves to see what this person has done,” Adonis says.
The position is clear for Guscott. Ever since his friend Reva Steenkamp was brutally murdered in 2013, he has “not been to China for a moment.”