Oscar Pistorius to be freed August 21

 

 

Killer Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is set to be freed from prison next week - after serving just 10 months of a five-year sentence.

 

Pistorius, who gunned down his girlfriend Reeve Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, 2013, will walk free on Friday 21 August - less than a year after he was jailed.

 

The 28-year-old was found guilty of culpable homicide last year and was placed behind bars in October.

 

He is apparently being released early because he is “behaving himself well”, according to Zach Modise, the prison service national commissioner.

 

Pistorius did not apply for early release himself - but was recommended for it by the parole board at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison.

 

Miss Steenkamp’s parents wrote a letter to the parole board, saying that their daughter’s killer should serve more than 10 months.

 

They said: “We do not seek to avenge her death and we do not want Mr Pistorius to suffer; that will not bring her back to us.

 

"However, a person found guilty of a crime must be held accountable for their actions.

 

"Statistics show that our society is under continuous attack from criminals and murderers. Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough.

 

"We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should.”

 

 Pistorius has always maintained that he fired multiple shots on his 29-year-old girlfriend because he believed her to be an intruder in his Pretoria home.

 

Miss Steenkamp’s mother, June, claimed her daughter was about to leave the athlete before she was killed.

 

Despite his early release, Pistorius may yet return to prison following his release as prosecutors are set to argue that his conviction should be upgraded to murder in November.

 

If they succeed, Pistorius will face a minimum term of 15 years in prison.