By Evridiki Fatolia,
On February 14, 2013, at 4 a.m., the Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius shot his friend, Reeva Steenkamp, who was behind a locked bathroom door, killing her (she received 4 shots). The next day he was charged with murder. He was South Africa’s golden boy and a source of inspiration for millions around the world.
In the lengthy trial that followed, Oscar Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder, while his defense line claimed it was an accident and that he believed a robber had broken into his home. Why, while hearing her screams, he went on and threw three more bullets at his 29-year-old partner?
Paralympic and Olympic athlete shot and killed the 29-year-old model through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day in 2013 because he was pathologically jealous. Prosecutors claim he shot and killed the model and law graduate after a fight that caused her to escape and hide in the bathroom.
The trial at Pretoria’s Supreme Court, which was broadcasted on television (a local broadcaster created a new TV channel on the case), brought together journalists from all over the world, forcing the judiciary to restrict the presence of the media in the courtroom itself.
The trial lasted seven months. There is also a book, “Behind the Door: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story”. Audiences listened to the testimony of fourty witnesses and watched Oscar Pistorius weep in the South African courtroom. The court found him guilty of the death of Reeva Steenkamp, but not of deliberate homicide.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2014. And he was released under house arrest to spend the rest of his sentence at his uncle’s house. Prosecutors appealed and in July 2016, his sentence was increased to six years. The following year, the Supreme Court of Appeal found the sentence “shockingly mild” and increased it to 15 years, minus the time he had already served.
The Detention Service Department warned the public in November that Oscar Pistorius will be released on condition on 5 January 2024. Offenders in South Africa are entitled to conditional release after they have served at least half their sentence. He will live under strict conditions until the rest of his sentence ends in December 2029.
The athlete quietly fled to the Atteridgeville Prison Centre in Pretoria as the media waited outside the facilities to see him. He will be subjected to prison surveillance until his sentence ends. He has to meet regularly with conditional release officers at home and in prison offices and will face unexpected visits. Also, he cannot leave the Waterkloof without permission.
Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner known as the “Blade Runner”, was released almost 11 years after his partner’s murder. He was a six-time gold winner at the Paralympic Games and qualified for the Olympic Games wearing carbon fiber prosthetic blades – one of the only 10 athletes who have ever competed in both races.
The police in Johannesburg has been informed that the city’s gangs want revenge on Reeva’s murder. He has sworn enemies. He will live in his uncle’s house (per home is not an exact designation for a three-storey villa worth 900,000€) in Waterkloof, a luxurious suburb of South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. Additional security was installed ahead of his arrival. She will attend programs on gender-based violence and anger management. Oscar Pistorius is also not allowed to speak to the media under the conditions of his release.
It should also be noted that he began his sentence in the Supreme Security Prison, Kgosi Mampuru, in Pretoria, where he attended Bible study classes and was videotaped playing football with another notorious prisoner, the organized crime boss Radovan Krejčíř. He was later transferred to the Atteridgeville Prison Centre, which is usually intended for non-violent offenders, but was considered to be better equipped to handle a disabled prisoner. He had his own cell with a private bathroom.
In a statement shared by the Steenkamp family’s lawyer after his release, Reeva’s mother, June, said: “There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.” Note that the parents of the murdered Reeva Steenkamp were forced to move home and almost went bankrupt because of court costs.
References
- Oscar Pistorius released on parole 11 years after killing Reeva Steenkamp. BBC. Available here
- Oscar Pistorius. Britannica. Available here
