Parole board refuses early release for convicted killer Oscar Pistorius 

The former Olympic and Paralympic athlete, known as the Blade Runner, had applied for parole after serving half of his jail term.

Disgraced South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been denied early release from prison, ten years after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius, who is serving more than 13 years for her murder, applied for a parole hearing last year, arguing that he had served more than half his sentence.

But on Friday the board, which includes representatives from the prison service, police, and civilians, ruled that he will have to stay in prison for at least another year and four months after it was decided that he had not served the “minimum detention period” required to be released.

The parole board hearing Pistorius’ application ruled he would be able to apply again in August 2024, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said in a statement. The board cited a new clarification on Pistorius’ sentence that was issued by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal three days ago, according to the statement.

The result was a surprise but there has been legal wrangling over when Pistorius should be eligible for parole because of the series of appeals in his case. He was initially convicted of culpable homicide, a charge comparable to manslaughter, in 2014. Still, the case went through a number of appeals before Pistorius was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017.

Tania Koen, a lawyer for the Steenkamp family, told reporters: “I can confirm that parole has been denied, they will reconvene in a year to reconsider him again and we don’t know the reasons yet [for the denial].”I’ve just received a call from the parole board It is a huge sense of relief for June.”

Steenkamp’s parents still believe he is lying about their daughter’s killing and opposed the former Olympic runner’s application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.

“Unless he comes clean, they don’t feel that he is rehabilitated,” lawyer Tania Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre prison in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been incarcerated since 2016 where his parole hearing took place Friday.

“He’s the killer of their daughter. For them, it’s a life sentence,” Koen said before the hearing.

Earlier, Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp told Sky News that Pistorius was “not remorseful or rehabilitated” ahead of the hearing.