Pistorius, pending whether or not he will receive probation this Friday

The athlete of South Africa Oscar Pistoriuswho is serving a prison sentence for killing his girlfriend, the model, in 2013 Reeva Steenkampwill be submitted this Friday at a hearing by a review board if you have been granted parole.

Expected Pistorius36, appeared before the parole board at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Center in Pretoria in a hearing that, in principle, should be held behind closed doors, local media reported today.

The board – which includes representatives from the prison service, police and civilians – will decide whether the Paralympian is eligible for parole after serving half of his 15-year sentence.

“The minimum period of detention that a prisoner must serve is an important milestone in the rehabilitation process of those in our care, because this also serves as a key point for one to be considered for parole and this must be done in a timely manner,” explained the spokesperson of the South African Department of Correctional Services at the end of October, Singabakho Nxumalo , in the “Pistorius case”.

The board’s decision is expected in the coming days, after deliberation by that committee.

Last year, Pistorius petitioned the Pretoria High Court to compel prison officials to hold a parole hearing, arguing that he had served more than half of his sentence for Steenkamp’s murder.

Under South African law, offenders who serve half of their sentences are eligible for parole, a milestone Pistorius says he has reached.

The athlete insisted that he did everything in his power to turn himself around and show full remorse, according to a statement sent to the court.

After a trial that attracted worldwide media attention, Pistorius was initially sentenced in October 2014 to five years in prison for culpable homicide, when Judge Thokozile Masipa considered there were extenuating circumstances, although the Prosecutor’s Office appealed against that decision.

In November 2015, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the manslaughter conviction. of the athlete and found him guilty of murder, sending the case back to the trial court for retrial.

In July 2016, Magistrate Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years in prison for murder.

After another appeal by the Prosecutor’s Office, however, the Supreme Court of Appeal raised the sentence in November 2017 to fifteen years, the minimum contemplated by South African law in murder cases except in exceptional circumstances.

In practice, that sentence would mean thirteen years and five months in prison, minus the time Pistorius – who has spent time on bail and under house arrest – has already spent in prison.

Last July, the Department of Correctional Services confirmed that a meeting had taken place between Pistorius and Steenkamp’s parents last month.

The encounter is part of the athlete’s rehabilitation, a requirement to apply for probation.

Pistorius is serving time for shot Steenkamp to death in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day 2013when he was at the height of his fame and amassed wealth from his sports career.

He shot her four times through the closed bathroom door and, during the trial, unsuccessfully tried to argue that he panicked when he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar who entered the apartment through the bathroom window.

Born with a genetic problem that caused his parents to amputate both legs below the knee when he was 11 months old, Pistorius achieved world fame by running in the 2012 London Olympics with two carbon prostheses.