Oscar Pistorius at the time during the murder trial. (Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP)
A legal expert from Cape Town says Oscar Pistorius’ application for parole should never have taken place, given the uncertainty about the period of his sentence that he has already served.
Pistorius heard on Friday afternoon that the parole board had rejected his application.
“This is an extraordinary situation,” says prof. Kelly Phelps from the University of Cape Town.
“In fact, it seems as if [die besluit] is completely unbelievable.”
The Department of Correctional Services said Pistorius’ parole was rejected because he “did not complete the minimum period of detention”.
In a short memo, the court explained that the prison sentence imposed on Pistorius actually began on the day of the last verdict in 2017 and not when Pistorius was first sentenced in 2014.
In 2017, the Court of Appeal set aside Pistorius’s initial sentence of six years for murder and replaced it with a sentence of 13 years and five months.
According to the parole board, this means that Pistorius will then only be eligible for parole in August 2024, and not this year as previously thought.
AFP had the court document in question on Friday, but it was apparently already issued on Tuesday.
“The result of this is that the parole hearing continued when it shouldn’t have,” says Phelps.
The murdered Reeva Steenkamp’s parents, June and Barry, on Friday welcomed the decision to keep her killer still behind bars. However, they added that there is no cause for celebration yet.
Reeva’s parents opposed Pistorius’ release on Friday. June traveled from Gqeberha to Pretoria to give her victim impact statement. However, Barry was unable to attend the parole hearing due to ill health.
“The whole process involved so much unnecessary trauma for both sides,” said Tania Koen, legal representative of Reeva’s parents.
“But at the same time, justice prevailed.”
Pistorius’ legal representative, Julian Knight, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
It is well known that prisoners have the right to approach the court for review when denied parole.
