Blade runner Oscar Pistorius released on parole

Eleven years after shooting and killing Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door in their home in Pretoria, South Africa home, double-amputee runner and six-time Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius, 37, was released on parole on Friday.

On Valentine’s Day in 2013, Pistorius, known as the “Blade Runner,” fired numerous shots through a bathroom door in his home, killing Steenkamp, who was inside. The South African athletics star consistently denied intending to kill her, saying he shot her by mistake, believing she was an intruder.

Pistorius was initially convicted of the lesser charge of culpable homicide and sentenced to five years in prison, but after an appeal by prosecutors, he was found guilty of murder in 2016 and the sentence increased by a further six years. In 2017, according to a report in the Globe and Mail, his sentence was more than doubled, after South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal decided it was too lenient. In 2021, it was announced he would soon be eligible for parole, having served half his sentence.

South Africa’s Department of Corrections did not give details as to when and how Pistorius would be released, saying “Inmates and parolees are never paraded. Pistorius’ public profile does not make him different from other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment,” the Department of Corrections said in a statement Wednesday.

The 37-year-old will be under correctional supervision for the remainder of his murder sentence of 13 years and five months expires in December 2029. Pistorius will also undergo therapy for anger and gender-based violence issues, according to a report.

Pistorius competed in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, finishing third overall in the T44 100m and winning gold in the 200m; he went on to compete again in 2008, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m. He wanted to compete against able-bodied runners, but the IAAF (now World Athletics) ruled that runners using carbon-fibre prosthetic “blades” had an unfair advantage and could not race against able-bodied athletes. Pistorius fought this ruling and won, and the rule was revoked, clearing the way for him to try to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. (Further studies have also concluded that prosthetic blades do not confer an advantage over able-bodied runners.)

posted Friday January 5th
by Marley Dickinson
Oscar Pistorius