Oscar Pistorius, ex-paralympian convicted of girlfriend's murder, granted early release from prison

Former South African paralympian Oscar Pistorius was granted an early release from prison on Friday (Nov 24), several yearsafter being proven guilty of fatally shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Upon reviewing his chances of being fit for social reintegration, a parole board decided to put him on parole from January 5, the Department of Correctional Services said.

"Mr Pistorius will complete the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections and will be subjected to supervision in compliance with parole conditions until his sentence expires,” the statement read.

After Pistorius lost his first bid in March when the board found him not completing the minimum detention period needed to be exempted, Steenkamp's mother asked for a stay on his parole, as she didn’t believe Oscar was rehabilitated, for he had not shown true remorse.

"Rehabilitation requires someone to engage honestly, with the full truth of his crime and the consequences thereof. Nobody can claim to have remorse if they're not able to engage fully with the truth," June Steenkamp said in a statement to the board.

However, Steenkamp's spokesman informed the board of her decision not to oppose parole for Pistorius.

The hearing took place at a correctional centre outside Pretoria, where he is currently detained.

What happened?

Known worldwide as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Oscar killed his girlfriend, a model, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013, shooting her four times through the bathroom door of his super-secured Pretoria house.

Oscar was found guilty of murdering her and was sentenced to 13-year jail term in 2017 following a lengthy trial and several appeals.

However, during the trials earlier, he pleaded not guilty and denied killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage, adding he mistook her for a burglar.