PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) – The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, wife Oscar Pistorius who was shot dead ten years ago, still do not believe his account of their daughter’s murder and will oppose the former Olympic gold medalist’s request for parole, she said lawyer on Friday.
“If he doesn’t come clean, they don’t feel like he’s rehabilitated,” attorney Tania Koen told reporters outside the Atteridgeville Correctional Center jail in Pretoria, where Pistorius has been held since 2016 and where his parole hearing will be held on Friday should .
Pistorius, a double amputee runner and multiple Paralympic champion who made history by competing against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 Olympics, was convicted of the 2013 Valentine’s Day 2013 murder of Reeva Steenkamp at his home.
Pistorius has always claimed that he accidentally shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder in his home. But her parents, Barry and June Steenkamp, have said they still believe he killed her on purpose out of anger after an argument.
Pistorius fired four shots from his licensed 9mm handgun through a toilet stall door at his upscale Pretoria home at 29-year-old Steenkamp, a model and reality TV star, in the early hours of February 14, 2013 to kill.
Pistorius, now 36, was finally sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison for murder in 2017 after a series of appeals in his case. He is eligible for parole under South African law after serving half of his sentence.
Koen said Steenkamp’s mother, June Steenkamp, will make written and oral statements opposing Pistorius’ request to be released from prison at Friday’s hearing. June Steenkamp sat in the back seat of a car nearby while Koen spoke to reporters outside the prison gates. June Steenkamp and Koen were then taken to the prison in a correctional facility vehicle.
“She doesn’t feel like he needs to be released,” Koen said. A decade after her daughter’s murder, Koen said time has “not healed” the grief for Barry and June.
“He’s your daughter’s killer. For them, it’s a life sentence,” Koen said. “For them, it’s 10 missed birthdays, 10 Mother’s Days, 10 Father’s Days, 10 Christmases.”
Submissions from a victim’s relatives are just one of the factors a parole board considers when deciding whether an offender can be granted early parole.
According to the guidelines, the Chamber will also consider the offense for which Pistorius was convicted, his conduct and disciplinary conduct during detention, whether he has attended any educational or other training, his mental and physical condition, whether he is likely to “be in the crime will fall behind” and the risk he poses to the public.
Of all the factors, legal experts say Pistorius’ conduct in prison would likely be the most important consideration.
Pistorius’ parole attorney, Julian Knight, previously said Pistorius was a “model prisoner”. He did not respond to messages asking for comment ahead of the parole hearing.
A number of options are available to the parole board: Pistorius could be paroled, or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day, but would have to return to prison at night. He could also be placed under correctional supervision, meaning he would be released but would have to spend part of his time in a correctional facility during the week.
Pistorius’ parole could be denied, with the board usually encouraging the offender to reapply at a later date.
Once celebrated as an inspirational figure for overcoming the adversities of his disability, the murder trial and downfall of Pistorius captivated the world. His conviction eventually led to his being transferred to the Kgosi Mampuru II maximum security prison, one of South Africa’s most notorious.
He was transferred to Atteridgeville Prison in 2016 because that facility is better suited to disabled prisoners. Pistorius had his lower legs amputated as a baby due to a congenital condition, and he walks with prosthetic limbs.
There were glimpses of his life in prison, with reports claiming he eventually grew a beard, gained weight and started smoking and was unrecognizable from the world-famous athlete he once was.
He has spent much of his time working in an area of the prison grounds that grows vegetables and sometimes driving a tractor. His father, Henke Pistorius, said in a 2018 interview that he runs Bible classes for other inmates.
There were flashes of anger too. Pistorius was injured in an altercation with another inmate over a public phone at the prison in 2017. A year earlier, Pistorius was being treated for injuries to his wrists, which his family denied because he had harmed himself and one consequence was him falling into his cell.
A decision on Pistorius’ parole could be made on Friday but will likely take days to finalize.
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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa
Source : news.yahoo.com