Oscar Pistorius granted parole after nearly 10 years in prison in girlfriend’s death
ByDebbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Oscar Pistorius granted parole FILE PHOTO: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - JULY 6: Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius holds the hand of a relative after sentencing at the High Court on July 6, 2016 at the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Marco Longari - Pool/Getty Images/Getty Images)
ByDebbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Oscar Pistorius was granted parole on Friday after spending nearly 10 years in prison in South Africa for murdering his girlfriend, The Associated Press is reporting.
Pistorius, a double-amputee Olympic runner, was found guilty of killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by shooting her multiple times through a bathroom door at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013.
Pistorius, 37, was given a second chance at parole eight months after he was wrongly ruled ineligible for early release at a hearing in March.
An error made by an appeals court over when the sentence officially started led to the canceled parole.
Pistorius will be released from prison on Jan. 5, the AP is reporting.
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a South African high court. However, the supreme court of appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
June Steenkamp, Steenkamp’s mother, did not oppose bail, the BBC reported, however, in a letter sent to the parole board Steenkamp wondered whether Pistorius’s “huge anger issues” were truly dealt with in prison, adding she would potentially be “concerned for the safety of any woman” who now comes into contact with him.
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Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, left, stands as the judges leaves the court, during his bail application at the magistrate court, in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, a South African prosecutor said Tuesday as he charged the sports icon with premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. He did not elaborate before a break was called in the session. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station, east of Pretoria, South Africa, en route to appear in court to be charged with murder. Pistorius was taken into custody after a woman who was believed to be his girlfriend was shot dead at his home in Pretoria.
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands inside the court as a police officer looks on during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. A South African judge says defense lawyers will need to offer "exceptional" reasons to convince him to grant bail for Oscar Pistorius, when a hearing resumes Wednesday. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
FILE- In this Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Investigating officer Hilton Botha, sits inside the court witness box during the Oscar Pistorius bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa. The lead investigator in the murder case against Oscar Pistorius faces attempted murder charges himself over a 2011 shooting, police said Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, in another potentially damaging blow to the prosecution. Prosecutors said they were unaware of the charges against veteran detective Hilton Botha when they put him on the stand in court to explain why Pistorius should not be given bail in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend. Police Brig. Neville Malila told The Associated Press that Botha � who gave testimony in the Pistorius bail hearing on Wednesday � is scheduled to appear in court in May on seven counts of attempted murder related to an incident in October 2011 when Botha and two other police officers fired at a minibus they were trying to stop. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, leaves his home to attend her funeral ceremony in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
The family of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, front row from left to right, sister Aimee, brother Carl and father Henke Pistorius, at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Oscar Pistorius arrived at the court building in a police car with a blue blanket covering his head Wednesday as prosecutors prepared to detail why they are charging him with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Prosecutors want to show why he should be denied bail. Pistorius denies the charge, and said it was an accidental shooting. Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder for the Feb. 14 shooting death of model Reeva Steenkamp at his upscale home in the eastern suburbs of the South African capital, Pretoria. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The defense and prosecution both completed their arguments with the magistrate soon to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he must stay behind bars pending trial. (AP Photo/Antoine de Ras-Star) SOUTH AFRICA OUT
In this Nov. 4, 2012, file photo, Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp, his girlfriend, attend an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Pistorius is on trial in South Africa for her shooting death, which he maintains was an accident. The photo was taken about three months before he shot her through bathroom door, claiming he thought she was an intruder.
Investigating officer Hilton Botha sits inside the witness box during the bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority acknowledged that the timing of attempted murder charges against a police detective leading the investigation into Oscar Pistorius is "totally weird" and that he should dropped from the case against the world-famous athlete. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock during his bail hearing at the magistrates court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. The fourth and likely final day of Oscar Pistorius' bail hearing opened on Friday, with the magistrate then to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he has to remain in custody over the shooting death of his girlfriend. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' father Henke Pistorius, right, with his children Carl, center,, and Aimee, left, watch as Oscar Pistorius walks in during his bail hearing at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A women's group protest, outside the court in Pretroia, South Africa, Tuesdayy, Feb 19, 2013 where Olympian athlete Oscar Pistorius was attending his bail hearing. A South African prosecutor said that Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, and has charged the sports icon with premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law. He did not elaborate before a break was called in the session. (AP Photo/Waldo Swiegers)
In this July 7, 2012, file photo, Pistorius competes during the 400-meter event at the KBC Night of Athletics in Heusden, Belgium.
Barry Steenkamp, third right, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, leaves, after attending her funeral, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
Reeva Steenkamp's casket arrives ahead of her funeral ceremony in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius stands in court following his bail hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Pistorius fired into the door of a small bathroom where his girlfriend was cowering after a shouting match on Valentine's Day, hitting her three times, a South African prosecutor said Tuesday as he accused the sports icon of premeditated murder. The magistrate ruled that Pistorius faces the harshest bail requirements available in South African law, but did not elaborate before a break was called in the session. (AP Photo)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius's brother Carl Pistorius, center, walks outside the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Oscar Pistorius told a packed courtroom Tuesday that he shot his girlfriend to death by mistake, thinking she was a robber. The prosecutor called it premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Pistorius leaves the Boschkop police station.
June Steenkamp, third left, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, greets people after she and others attend her funeral, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The defense and prosecution both completed their arguments with the magistrate soon to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he must stay behind bars pending trial. (AP Photo)
Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius's father Henke Pistorius, top center, with his children Carl, right, and Aimee, left, during the bail application for Oscar Pistorius at the magistrate court in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Oscar Pistorius faces a bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and Pistorius offered his first defense against the murder charge. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Olympian Oscar Pistorius, center with head covered, leaves the Brooklyn Police Station in a police vehicle in Pretoria, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, en route to the magistrates court for a bail hearing. Pistorius arrived early at the courthouse for a bail hearing where his lawyers and police expect to reveal details of the alleged killing of his model girlfriend. (AP Photo/ Waldo Swiegers)
Olympic athlete, Oscar Pistorius , in court Friday Feb. 22, 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing charged with the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. The defense and prosecution both completed their arguments with the magistrate soon to rule if the double-amputee athlete can be freed before trial or if he must stay behind bars pending trial. (AP Photo)
June Steenkamp, center, the mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives for her funeral in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
Adam Steenkamp, centre left, the brother of Reeva Steenkamp, walks with family members after attending her funeral, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013. Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is charged with the murder of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day. The defense lawyer says it was an accidental shooting. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)
