Oscar Pistorius Eligible for Parole Since March, Constitutional Court Reveals: Mzansi Unhappy

• Oscar Pistorius may be eligible for parole after the Department of Correctional Services made a recent announcement
• The Department’s spokesperson noted that the Constitutional Court has ordered them to revisit when Pistorius started serving his sentence
• A legal expert gave his views and clarified the confusion between when Oscar started serving his sentence
• Netizens are not on his side and say that he should remain behind bars

The Department of Correctional Services announced that Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been eligible for parole since March this year. This is even though he was denied parole after applying in the same month.

Oscar Pistorius eligible for parole since March - ConCourt

The Department’s spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, clarified that the Constitutional Court ordered Pistorius’s parole application to be reexamined. This is because the former gold Paralympian sought clarification from the Constitutional Court on when he began serving his murder sentence.

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Pistorius was initially sentenced to six years imprisonment in 2016 for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. His sentence was overturned the following year and he was slapped with a 13-year sentence.

According to SABC News, Pistorius may have served half of his sentence as of March in light of the announcement. He was denied parole by the Supreme Court of Appeals when he applied last year and was told that he hadn't served half of his sentence. There was confusion over when he started serving his sentence and when he was eligible for parole.

Legal expert gives Briefly News his views

Legal expert and attorney Sinawo Makangela told Briefly News what he thought of the Pistorius case.

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"My understanding of the case is the computation of the sentence, and that the ConCourt had to clarify when he started to serve his sentence, whether by the time High Court sentenced him or after the Supreme Court of Appeals decision."

When asked if Pistorius meets the conditions of parole, he commented:

"When an inmate is serving a sentence, there are correctional programs he undergoes to ensure that he integrates back well into society by the time he is released. Such would include accepting his wrongfulness with no conditions, having undergone some therapy sessions to mentally prepare him and having acquired a skill."

South Africans unhappy with his parole eligibility

Netizens commenting on Twitter said that Pistorius should remain in prison.

Jude Holtzhausen said:

“He hasn’t served his time. He murdered in cold blood. Let that thing rot behind bars.”

Maumela Mujanku Moila added:

“The judgment doesn’t state that he should have been released on parole. All it states is that his application for parole should have been entertained or rather processed.”

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Romeo wrote:

“The guy must go for parole when he’s six feet in the ground.”

24seven remarked:

“There are many other murderers who are eligible for parole. Why are you telling us about him only?”

Silas exclaimed:

“To me, he didn’t show remorse. He worked hard to see himself free, but the odds were against him. Guilty.”

Pistorius family challenges Oscar's sentence

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Oscar Pistorius’s family are working hard to challenge his parole eligibility dates.

The family argues that the Department of Correctional Services made a mistake about when he served his murder wrap. South Africans were split, with some believing that he deserved parole and others feeling that he should remain behind bars.

Source: Briefly News