Oscar Pistorius former Paralympic champion released from jail

This article was last updated on January 8, 2024

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Former sporting superstar Oscar Pistorius might be the most famous killer in the world.

The  former Paralympic champion left prison in South Africa on Friday on parole, having served half of his more than 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.

The twists and turns of his trial nearly a decade ago captivated the nation – and his release is a massive news event here in South Africa and around the world.

The double amputee won six gold medals over three Paralympic Games and made history in 2012 by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in London.

But Pistorius is now known as a convicted murder.

He is not a celebrity seeking a comeback after falling out of fashion or battling personal demons.

His career as an athlete is over. Brands will not want to sponsor him. He will not be sought out as a sports commentator.

The 37-year-old, once dubbed “the Blade Runner”, is said to look physically very different from the athlete people remember.

Local media have speculated on his future, including that he may become some sort of pastor, which follows his father saying several years ago that Pistorius was taking an active role in the Christian community within prison.

Reeva Steenkamp, a law graduate and successful model, had been dating Pistorius for three months when he killed her

It has not been officially confirmed where he will live, although multiple sources said he will stay with his uncle Arnold in one of Pretoria’s most exclusive areas, protected behind the property’s high walls.

It is where journalists, including the BBC, gathered on Friday morning. Some of his relatives were seen coming and going in vehicles but did not answer any questions. A bunch of flowers addressed to Pistorius was delivered to his uncle’s home by a courier at lunchtime.

Pistorius himself will also not be able to answer any media questions on his future. Among the terms of his parole – due to expire in 2029 – is a ban on speaking to the media.

Should he break this, or other conditions which restrict him from consuming alcohol or prohibited drugs, he can be returned to prison.

Many of the parole restrictions Pistorius will face over the next five years he shares in common with every other parolee in the country.

However, his high profile makes the release unusual.

In recent times, much public debate and commentary has emphasised the need to focus on victims of crime, rather than perpetrators.

Usually, when a person is convicted of murder after trial, the killer’s account – which might have been very distressing for the victim’s family – typically fades from public discourse, with the killer often hidden from sight in prison for decades.

In this case the killer is world famous and being released while still in his late 30s, after less than eight years in prison.

Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate and successful model, had her future taken aged only 29.

The ban on media interviews for Pistorius will eventually expire and he will then be free to speak. His fame means he will find a platform.

Gwyn Guscott, Ms Steenkamp’s close friend, says “every time we start processing and coming to terms with things, Oscar pops up”.

She predicts he will eventually seek to use the media attention to once again tell his version of events.

“Him coming out and speaking to the public, and possibly, you know, triggering one of our emotions in the wrong way, it’s just going to set us all backwards.”

Ms Steenkamp’s mother, June, has said she does not believe Pistorius had been rehabilitated nor does she believe his story claiming that he thought her daughter was an intruder on the night he shot her.

But on the day of his release she said that she and her late husband, Barry, had accepted that parole was part of the South African justice system, though they had never come to terms with their daughter’s death.

“The conditions imposed by the parole board, which includes anger management courses and programmes on gender-based violence, send out a clear message that gender-based violence is taken seriously,” her statement said.

“Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time? 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.”

The potential Pistorius’s release creates for future publicity for him will not be welcomed by the Steenkamp.

“My only desire is that I will be allowed to live my last years in peace with my focus remaining on the Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation, to continue Reeva’s legacy,” June Steenkamp said.

The trial of Oscar Pistorius captivated South Africa and still divides people

In South Africa, you do hear different views on the case, with people in the same social circles or families expressing vastly differing views on his culpability.

Some forget he was convicted of murder on appeal, remembering the original conviction of culpable homicide, a lesser offence equivalent to manslaughter, and people’s memories of the evidence have inevitably faded.

Under South African law, all offenders are entitled to be considered for parole once they have served half their total sentence.