Why Oscar Pistorius is set to be released just 10 years after the murder of Reeva Steenkamp

Former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison in January, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

The parole board considered his case last week and ruled that he is set to be released on January 5^th, 2024.

Once released in the new year, the authorities will monitor Pistorius closely until his sentence expires in nearly six years.

Pistorius will also have to attend regular therapy sessions, according to Steenkamp's family spokesperson, due to his 'Huge anger issues' that may not have been dealt with in prison.

June Steenkamp and her late husband Barry, who died earlier in the year, have had the most strenuous ten years of their lives since the incident happened.

According to bbc.co.uk, June Steenkamp said: "My dear Barry left this world utterly devastated by the thought that he had failed to protect his daughter. I've no doubt that he died of a broken heart."

Here is a look at the full Oscar Pistorius case until now.

Pistorius is a 100m six-time Paralympic gold medallist whose life went from heaven to hell as fast as he ran on the track. On February 14, 2013, he was charged with the murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. He allegedly hit her on the head and then killed her after firing four shots from his pistol.

In the newspaper Image, Pistorius claimed that he thought his girlfriend was a burglar and had reacted that way. However, the police have never given credence to the athlete's version of the report.

According to City Press, police even found a bloodied baseball bat in his home shortly afterwards, a crucial piece of evidence to prove he was guilty of Steenkamp's murder.

After several months of trials, Pistorius was sentenced on 21 October 2014 to a five-year prison term for wrongful death, which he would serve for 12 months until he was released and placed under house arrest in Pretoria.

However, on December 3, 2015, the Supreme Court of South Africa finally convicted him of murder, returning him to prison, this time serving a 15-year sentence. After another trial, that was reduced to six, and the Supreme Court of South Africa eventually sentenced him to 13 years and five months in prison in November 2017.

In 2018, Vaughan Sivell created the documentary 'Pistorius' was made about this story. It examines the tragic death of Reeva Steenkamp and at the same time gives a glimpse of the turbulent South African society.

Meanwhile, Pistorius's fight to be released continued. After the discovery of a series of alleged post-trial irregularities, he fought to use this loophole in the law to get paroled.

Oscar Pistorius' lawyer Julian Knight says several mistakes were made at South Africa's Supreme Court that led to huge confusion over when his sentence actually took effect.

The controversy surrounding the case has to do with the fact that after the lengthy legal process, which lasted from 2013 to 2018 and included two appeals, it has never been clarified whether the 506 days he spent in prison for the first conviction were counted in the last conviction or not.

The key in this case, according to Julian Knight, was proving that he had already served more than half of his sentence, bearing in mind that South African law allows prisoners to apply for parole halfway through their sentence.

So Pistorius and his lawyer wanted it recognized that the sentencing took place in October 2014 and not in 2017, when his sentence of 13 years and five months in prison was finally handed down, which would have allowed him to be released in February 2022.

There's another important parole condition: repentance. Something he seems to have fulfilled. In fact, in July 2022, Pistorius met Reeva Steenkamp's parents as part of his rehabilitation process, attorney Tania Koen told The Associated Press. The parents who, by the way, have always rejected the athlete's version and opposed his parole.

However, South African authorities informed Pistorius that he was not entitled to parole until March 2023. But when that date came, the athlete's application for parole was rejected, the South African Department of Correctional Services said at the time.

Since he officially reached the halfway period of his sentence last week, Pistorius will now be released from prison in the new year.

Oscar Pistorius went from a sporting and societal icon to the fallen and much-maligned person he is today. A story that was supposed to be written in gold is now part of a black page in the international sports world.