Pistorius on probation for murdering girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG – South African Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who killed his girlfriend ten years ago, will know in about a month if he will be paroled, his attorney said Thursday.

“We have been advised by the parole board that (the) hearing will be held on March 31,” his attorney Julian Knight told AFP. “It’s an internal process”.

Pistorius, 36, shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013 when he fired four times through the bathroom door of his ultra-secure home in Pretoria.

He pleaded not guilty and denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.

Pistorius, known worldwide as “Blade Runner” because of his carbon fiber prostheses, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Offenders in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole after serving half of their sentence. Pistorius has served more than half.

A decision is usually known the same day of the parole hearing or a day later, and “if the decision is negative, the offender has the right to go to the courts for review,” Knight said.

A year before Steenkamp’s murder, Pistorius became the first double amputee to compete in the London 2012 Olympics.

He was originally sentenced to six years in prison, but the sentence was later extended to 13 after the state appealed that it was unduly lenient.