South African parole board postpones Pistorius hearing

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A parole hearing to decide if Oscar Pistorius should be let out of jail before serving his full five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been postponed, a spokeswoman for the Paralympian's family said on Friday.

South African parole board postpones Pistorius hearing

(Reuters)





The hearing had been scheduled for Friday. South African media said the reason for the postponement was so Steenkamp's family could provide submissions.

"It has been postponed until Oct. 21. I have not been given the official reason for this," family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said.

Pistorius, a Paralympic gold medallist, was due to have been released on parole in August after serving 10 months but Justice Minister Michael Masutha blocked his release, saying the parole hearing had been held prematurely.

The Parole Review Board upheld Masutha's decision this week.

However, now that the athlete has served a sixth of his sentence, the parole board can legally consider whether or not he should be released to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

Pistorius was found guilty in September 2014 of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter, after he fired four 9 mm shots through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home, killing Steenkamp almost instantly.

At a globally televised trial he argued that he had mistaken Steenkamp for a burglar.

Prosecutors are appealing the culpable homicide verdict, arguing it should be murder because Pistorius must have known that the person behind the door could be killed. That appeal is due to be heard on Nov. 3.





(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala and Ed Stoddard; Editing by Ed Cropley)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world