After more than eight years in prison, 'blade runner' Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole

Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic runner nicknamed 'blade runner', will be released on parole on Friday after serving more than eight years in prison. International news agencies report this. The 37-year-old athlete was serving a prison sentence for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Pistorius, who had both legs amputated in his first year of life, was arrested almost 11 years ago after killing his 29-year-old girlfriend on February 14, 2013 by shooting four times into the toilet door of his Pretoria home. The athlete has always said that he acted out of 'emergency', because he thought there was an intruder in the toilet and he wanted to protect his girlfriend. According to the prosecutor, the two had an argument and he shot her during a fit of rage.

Long legal process

The judge did not agree and initially sentenced him to five years in prison for culpable homicide and a three-year suspended prison sentence for firing a weapon – the start of a long legal process. At the end of 2015, he was found guilty of murder on appeal, an offense for which a minimum sentence of fifteen years applies in South Africa.

The multiple Paralympic champion then went to the Constitutional Court, which imposed a six-year prison sentence – a ruling that came under intense fire because critics believed that Pistorius received preferential treatment because of his skin color and fame. According to the judge, the “mitigating circumstances outweighed the aggravating circumstances.” Prosecutors called the sentence “shockingly low” and appealed. The highest court ultimately sentenced him to fifteen years in prison at the end of 2017. After deducting the time he had already served, he had to spend more than thirteen years in prison from that moment on.

After about eight and a half years in prison, Pistorius applied for parole. This is possible from the moment a person has served more than half of his sentence. The parole board decided to grant his request last November. Until the official end of his sentence in December 2029, Pistorius will live under restrictions: he must report regularly, undergo anger management therapy and attend sessions on gender-based violence. He is also not allowed to drink alcohol or talk to the media.

Pistorius became famous when he became the first athlete without lower legs to participate in the London Olympics in 2012. He did not win any prizes, but he did earn the nickname 'blade runner'. During three different Paralympic Games he won a total of one bronze, silver and six gold medals.

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