The sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who won six gold medals in the Paralympic Games, is seeking an early release from prison, after he was sentenced to 13 years in prison following the murder of his girlfriend Riva Steenkamp.
Pistorius, now 35 years old, went to court, claiming that he is eligible for parole after serving more than half of his sentence.
The South African was initially convicted of manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to five years in prison, after shooting Steenkamp several times in their Pretoria home in 2013, after claiming during his trial that he was mistaken and thought it was an intruder who broke into his home.
The charge was eventually changed to murder, and the Supreme Court of Appeals increased the prison sentence to 13 years and five months in 2017.
Recently, the court ruled that Pistorius' imprisonment should be calculated starting from 2014, so the killer sprinter immediately applied for his release as soon as possible, claiming that he should have been released already in February 2021 - after serving more than half of the sentence as stated.
South African law states that offenders must serve at least half of their sentence before they are eligible for parole.
Pistorius and Steenkamp in 2012.
Asking for forgiveness, photo: AFP
In June, Pistorius met with Barry, Steenkamp's father as part of the process.
"I have done everything in my power to rehabilitate and show full remorse," Pistorius said in a statement to the judges.
"I completed all the possible programs that were presented, and I was indeed trained in terms of the Ministry of Corrections guidelines for parole," he added.
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