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Murderer Oscar Pistorius was granted his freedom today after winning his bid for parole
The Paralympian, who turned 37 this week, has repeatedly refused to admit he callously killed Reeva Steenkamp during an angry and violent outburst and has stuck to his claim that it was an accident.
His failure to come clean despite his murder conviction led Reeva’s grief-stricken mother to brand him ‘a liar who I hate so much.’
But whether Pistorius is a ruthless killer or made a terrible mistake on Valentine’s Day 2013 was not a consideration for parole officers, who allowed him back into public life after hearing he had served more than six-and-a-half years in custody of his 13-year sentence.
But the Blade Runner will still have to spend Christmas behind bars as psychologists and welfare officers assess him before his release on January 5 2024.
A representative of Steenkamp's mother, June, said outside the hearing that he has to undergo community service and 'therapy for gender-based violence.'
Rob Matthews, who sat beside Steenkamp's in-court lawyer Annade Theart-Hofmeyer, said: 'The conditions are correctional supervision. He is required to attend therapy for anger issues.'
He added that Pistorius was not allowed to leave the Waterkloof district, where he will be staying with his uncle Arnold in a palatial mansion, and his parole will last until September 5 2029.
Asked by MailOnline if the sentence might appear soft to the world, he said: 'If those are the rules then we need to question the rules not those who have interpreted the rules.
'if the rules are too lenient, then that is what we should address.'
Pistorius was brought from his cell at 8am at the 84-year-old Atteridgevale prison in Pretoria to hear his fate and was said to be ‘confident’ as he entered the room, after his previous appearance before them in March had been rejected.
Today his legal team, led by Conrad Dormehl, argued that he had served sufficient time and that there had been official blunders on time served on his tariff.
South Africa allows convicts to be considered for release when they have served half of their sentence and the parole officers were told there had been a blunder in calculating the actual time the killer had served.
Oscar Pistorius WINS his bid for freedom
The Paralympian, who turned 37 this week, has repeatedly refused to admit he callously killed Reeva Steenkamp during an angry and violent outburst and has stuck to his claim that it was an accident.
His failure to come clean despite his murder conviction led Reeva’s grief-stricken mother to brand him ‘a liar who I hate so much.’
But whether Pistorius is a ruthless killer or made a terrible mistake on Valentine’s Day 2013 was not a consideration for parole officers, who allowed him back into public life after hearing he had served more than six-and-a-half years in custody of his 13-year sentence.
But the Blade Runner will still have to spend Christmas behind bars as psychologists and welfare officers assess him before his release on January 5 2024.
A representative of Steenkamp's mother, June, said outside the hearing that he has to undergo community service and 'therapy for gender-based violence.'
Rob Matthews, who sat beside Steenkamp's in-court lawyer Annade Theart-Hofmeyer, said: 'The conditions are correctional supervision. He is required to attend therapy for anger issues.'
He added that Pistorius was not allowed to leave the Waterkloof district, where he will be staying with his uncle Arnold in a palatial mansion, and his parole will last until September 5 2029.
Asked by MailOnline if the sentence might appear soft to the world, he said: 'If those are the rules then we need to question the rules not those who have interpreted the rules.
'if the rules are too lenient, then that is what we should address.'
Pistorius was brought from his cell at 8am at the 84-year-old Atteridgevale prison in Pretoria to hear his fate and was said to be ‘confident’ as he entered the room, after his previous appearance before them in March had been rejected.
Today his legal team, led by Conrad Dormehl, argued that he had served sufficient time and that there had been official blunders on time served on his tariff.
South Africa allows convicts to be considered for release when they have served half of their sentence and the parole officers were told there had been a blunder in calculating the actual time the killer had served.
Oscar Pistorius WINS his bid for freedom
