Pretoria - It is not known when former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius will be released on parole after serving prison time for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013, but it is certain that he will spend yet another Christmas in jail.
Pistorius’ hopes to have been considered to be placed on parole this year were dashed after the Supreme Court of Appeal cleared up the confusion regarding his time spent in jail following the various appeals and orders it had issued.
Supreme Court of Appeal chief registrar Elizabeth Vermeulen confirmed to the Pretoria News that the first order, that the sentence came into effect on October 21, 2014 – the day he was first sentenced for culpable homicide – stood.
This in effect means that Pistorius will only be eligible to be considered for parole in March 2023.
Vermeulen confirmed that a letter issued by the acting president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Xola Petse, was sent to Pistorius’ lawyer Julian Knight as well as Correctional Services, confirming the date on which his 13 years and five months sentence came into effect.
This caused Pistorius’ legal team to last week withdraw an application which was due to be heard by the High Court to compel the department’s parole board to convene and consider his fate.
According to Pistorius and his team’s earlier calculations, he was eligible for parole in March last year.
But prison authorities said in their court papers that in terms of their calculations, he would have served half of his sentence only in March next year.
The confusion regarding his time spent in jail followed various appeals and orders issued by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court upped his sentence to 13 years and five months’ in jail in 2017, but antedated it to October 2014. It has, however, twice varied the date on which the new sentence had to begin.
Both Correctional Services and Knight had earlier issued letters to the Supreme Court in an attempt to clear up the confusion, but this was only done a day before Pistorius’ court bid to try to ensure a parole hearing this year.
Pistorius said in court papers that he was a model prisoner who underwent all the programmes and assessments required to serve before the parole board. He said there was nothing more he could do from his side. “I humbly submit that I have done everything in my power to rehabilitate, to conduct myself in such a manner as to constantly comply with the prison rules and to show full remorse.”
He also met Reeva’s father, Barry Steenkamp, as part of a victim and offender dialogue.
Tania Koen, the lawyer who represents the Steenkamps, yesterday said they were pleased that the uncertainty had now been clarified. “We’ve always held the view that the judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal on November 24, 2017, was clear and unambiguous. That is why we queried the subsequent orders with the Supreme Court of Appeal.”
Pistorius will remain in the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre.
Pretoria News