Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole on Friday. The Correctional Services Parole Board refused Pistorius parole on the basis that he had not served a minimum detention period.
The disgraced Paralympian appeared before the board, wanting to be set free, 10 years after shooting and killing his then-girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
The Correctional Services Department authorities say both the parents of Reeva Steenkamp and convicted paralympian Oscar Pistorius have been informed of the parole board’s decision.
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo says, “How the system works is once the board has made the decision the priority people are the victims and the inmate who would be informed as well and the department. Hence a bit of a delay when a decision was made I think to some of the lawyers and it took some time to confirm that because as the department we needed to get it from the parole board. To say that this is the decision that we have taken and we have communicated with the relevant parties. And it’s then that we can go out and say what was the decision of the board.”
Both parties on Friday made representations before the board at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre, west of Pretoria.
The Steenkamp family has asked the board not to release Pistorius on parole as they believe he has not been rehabilitated.
He has been in prison for almost a decade of his 13-year sentence for killing Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Meanwhile, the Pistorius family lawyer says they are exploring legal options regarding the decision.
