South Africa’s correctional authority will decide on Friday whether former top athlete Oscar Pistorius will be paroled after a conviction for manslaughter. Pistorius was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after shooting his then-girlfriend four times through the bathroom door of his villa on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The 36-year-old has served about half of his sentence in a prison in the capital Pretoria. Under South African law, this automatically entitles him to parole. Pistorius’s fall from internationally acclaimed athlete to archer had attracted worldwide attention. The prolific athlete and his then 29-year-old girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, were part of the country’s elite celebrity couple and were previously hailed as a dream couple in South African media.
13 years and five months
The case against Pistorius, who was amputated below both knees, dragged on for years and had several lawsuits. In 2014, he was initially sentenced to five years in prison. This was increased to six years in 2016. After another retraction by the prosecutor, Pistorius was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in late 2017.
Sprinter Pistorius had won six gold medals at the Paralympic Games on specially made carbon prostheses. In London in 2012, he became the first athlete with a leg amputation to compete in the Olympics.
Source: Krone
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