Oscar Pistorius could soon be a free man as his parole hearing will be heard next week after the convicted murderer completed the minimum required sentence to be considered for parole.
Pistorius is serving a 13-year and five-month sentence after his culpable homicide conviction was overturned to murder in 2016. This after he had shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 2013, claiming he thought she was an intruder.
The “Blade Runner” had lost his bid for parole earlier this year. However, the Constitutional Court recently ruled that his sentence should be backdated to July 6 2016, pushing forward his eligibility for parole.
Pistorius’ lawyer Conrad Dormehl confirmed that the parole hearing will be heard next week on Friday.
“The hearing will be on November 24. We are obviously glad it’s come to the fore and happy we have a date for parole consideration. As for the process itself, I cannot say much. We are still in the process of making submissions and not sure how the parole board is dealing with it,” he said.
The department of correctional services had argued that Pistorius had not yet served his minimum sentence to be eligible for parole. However, the ConCourt decided there was nothing to prevent his parole bid from being heard.
Dormehl said it is uncertain when Pistorius will finally be a free man as the process is dictated by the department of correctional services.
“The parole board takes into account what we call business reports, submissions that a person entitled to parole makes and those made by the victims, as well as other information. Once they have all of that together, then they decide on granting parole.
“The second consideration is the conditions attached to it, assuming it’s granted, such as the date of release and other corrective measures.”
Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the department will make an announcement once the sitting is confirmed.
“The department will issue an alert the moment the parole board confirms the sitting date,” he said.
In other news – Karol G and Shakira wins at 2023 Latin Grammys
Karol G and Shakira took the charts by storm with their girl-power anthem “TQG,” and the 2023 Latin Grammys were no different for the Colombian popstars. Karol walked away with the biggest prize of the night Thursday when her album “Mañana Será Bonito” won album of the year. The victory proved to be an emotional one for the “Provenza” songstress, who choked up with tears as she gave her acceptance speech.
“It’s an honor to receive this in front of so many people in music who I admire and grew up listening to,” Karol said in Spanish. “This album changed my life, and it’s incredible to me that it’s changed the lives of so many people.” Read More
