A South African parole board met on Monday to determine whether Oscar Pistorius should be released early from a prison sentence for killing his girlfriend.
The 28-year-old double-amputee sprinter was sentenced last year to five years in prison for killing model and law graduate, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day 2013.
He was found guilty of culpable homicide – a charge equivalent to manslaughter – after saying he shot his girlfriend through a locked bathroom door because he mistook her for an intruder.
Pistorius was due to leave prison in August to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.
But he was kept behind bars after Justice Minister Michael Masutha made a last minute intervention blocking his release.
Masutha said the parole board had made a mistake when it approved Pistorius for parole before he had served a sixth of his five-year sentence, as required by law.
The board’s first meeting, two weeks ago in the eastern port city of Durban, ended without the panel of legal experts headed by a judge making a decision on Pistorius’ case, and the matter was postponed.
Pistorius family spokeswoman, Anneliese Burgess, confirmed Monday’s meeting, which will change location to Gauteng, where Steenkamp was killed.
Her parents, who are convinced Pistorius murdered their daughter in a rage, have strongly opposed the athlete’s possible release, telling Australian television in August he had ruined their lives.
“How can ten months be enough? He killed her. He admits he killed her. She’s dead. Why didn’t he just let her walk away? Why?” her mother June Steenkamp said in the interview.
Even if he is freed from prison and placed under house arrest, Pistorius could find himself back behind bars for a minimum of 15 years if an appeal by prosecutors next month is successful.
They are pursuing a murder conviction and a longer sentence, arguing that Pistorius deliberately killed Steenkamp after an argument.
If the parole review board decides that Pistorius should be released from prison, the athlete might be able to leave jail immediately, his lawyer, Brian Webber, told AFP.
Whatever the outcome of the parole decision, the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear the prosecution’s appeal on November 3.
