Oscar Pistorius to be granted parole from January, nearly 11 years after murdering Reeva Steenkamp
Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison in January following a parole hearing on Friday; The South African runner is a former Paralympic champion and became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics
Last Updated: 24/11/23 6:21pm
Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison in January, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The former Paralympic champion and South African runner shot his girlfriend dead, Ms Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day 2013 at his home in Pretoria, South Africa.
Pistorius, now 37, said he fired the gun through a bathroom door, having mistaken her for an intruder and claiming he feared for his safety.
The prosecution argued the murder was premeditated and Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp after an argument.
Pistorius was initially not found guilty of murder and was instead convicted of culpable homicide (the equivalent of a manslaughter charge in the UK).
He was sentenced to five years in 2014 and was eventually released from prison and placed under house arrest.
A year later, that conviction was overturned when South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal found him guilty of murder.
He was sentenced to six years - which was then increased to 13 years and five months after the sentence was deemed "shockingly too lenient" in an appeal.
The parole board considered his case again today after denying him parole in March.
The decision to give him a second parole hearing came after his lawyer took his case to the Constitutional Court over errors made by the court in calculating when Pistorius would be eligible for parole.
He was initially told he would only be eligible in August 2024, when he was in fact eligible in March.
Granting a second hearing was seen as effectively an admission of the appeal court's error.
Pistorius was born in South Africa in 1986. At 11-months-old, both his legs were amputated below the knee because of a congenital defect.
He went on to compete at the Paralympic Games and became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics.
Known as the Blade Runner because of his prosthetic blades he used to run, Pistorius gained significant fame for his athletic prowess.
