Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius has been serving a five-year sentence for culpable homicide for the killing of Reeva Steenkamp on February 13, 2013. On August 19th, South African Justice Minister Michael Masutha said Pistorius will not be freed on parole on August 21st because the decision was made before the athlete had served a sixth of his sentence, as required by law.
For the time being, Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru II prison will continue to be home for Oscar Pistorius. South Africa's Minister of Justice Michael Masutha has blocked the Paralympic gold medallist's planned release, saying it was both premature and illegal.
The Justice Ministry said today that South Africa's parole review board has up to four months to come to a decision on when Oscar Pistorius can be released to live out the rest of his sentence under house arrest at his uncle's home.
In Johannesburg, the BBC's Milton Nkozi said the parole board's mistake was in the timing of the decision. "Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison on manslaughter, or culpable homicide verdict. That means that he is eligible for parole or probation after serving one-sixth of their sentence, or 10 months. It would have been 10 months on August 11st." But the decision to release Pistorius was made in June, before the 10 months. "They should have waited until the 21st of August and then begin the parole decision to see whether he is indeed eligible for house arrest."
Nkozi says there was also a political motive behind the blocking of Pistorius' release, particularly in August, which is designated women's month in the nation. It's a time when the government and media focus on women's issues, like domestic violence, the killing of women by their spouses. "Members of the Progressive Women's Movement had given the justice minister a petition to delay Pistorius' release, saying that 10 months was too short a time for a man who shot an innocent woman with four bullets while she was hiding behind a closed toilet door, which is what happened to Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013."
Separately this week, prosecutors filed an appeal asking for the culpable homicide verdict, the equivalent of manslaughter, be changed murder. Their argument is that Pistorius must have known when he fired his gun that the person behind the door could be killed. "Remember we do not have a jury system in South Africa," says Nkozi. "Mr. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide by a single judge, Thokozile Matilda Masipa."
If convicted of murder, Pistorius would likely be given a sentence of at least 15 years. The appeal hearing is due to start in November.
