Olympic champion Oscar Pistorius is being considered for parole six years after he was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison in 2017Image: Shiraaz Mohamed/AP/picture alliance
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South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius could be considered for parole after completing half his prison sentence for murdering his girlfriend.
The world-famous double-amputee athlete shot dead model Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013 when he fired four times through a toilet door in his home.
He claimed at his trial it was a tragic accident and he mistook her for a dangerous intruder.
Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide in 2014.
Prosecutors appealed the finding and the following year they secured a murder conviction. The athlete was sentenced to six years in prison for murder, but prosecutors then again appealed what they called a shockingly light sentence for murder.
The 34-year-old became eligible for parole in July this year under South African law, having served half his term.
From the Olympics to prison
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Victim-offender dialogue
A parole hearing was scheduled for last month but was later canceled partly because a meeting between Pistorius and the victim's family had not been arranged, according to lawyers from both sides.
Before the parole process begins, the Correctional Service department needs to carry out a dialogue between the offender and the victim's family.
"There is the issue of victim-offender dialogue that needs to take place before his profile can be taken to the parole board," prisons spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo told news agency AFP.
"It's quite a sensitive and emotional process."
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Steenkamp's parents 'shocked'
The department was due to hold preliminary talks with Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, but the meeting was postponed and has not been rescheduled yet.
Tania Koen, the lawyer for the Steenkamps, said that the family reacted with shock when they were first contacted by the prison services and informed that Pistorius is eligible for parole.
"But over that shock, they were distraught, especially after the department canceled the meeting. That was a double blow," said Koen.
"It opens a lot of wounds or rips off the plasters they had put on those wounds."
While the Steenkamps will also be allowed to make recommendations to the parole board, their lawyer declined to say whether they will oppose Pistorius' release.
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Maradona, the bad boy superstar
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Marion Jones, a tainted legacy
The American sprinter won five medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, catapulting her to stardom. Jones vehemently denied rumors of doping, but a federal investigation into a California lab uncovered evidence of her culpability. In 2007, she publicly admitted to steroid use and lying to authorities. Jones was subsequently stripped of all her Olympic medals and sentenced to 6 months in prison.
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Oscar Pistorius, from the history books to jail
Nicknamed the "blade runner," the South African Paralympian made history as the first amputee to compete in Olympic athletics in London 2012, and the first one to earn a medal in the Athletics World Championship of 2011, as part of a relay team. But in 2011 he was found guilty of murder, for fatally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in their home.
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Jan Ullrich, from national hero to foe
The first German to win the Tour de France in 1997, coupled with gold and silver medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Jan Ullrich was among the best cyclists in the world. But in 2013, he admitted publicly to blood doping. After retirement, his life has been marred by scandal, from drunk driving to recently breaking into his neighbor's house in the Spanish island of Mallorca.
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Tonya Harding, a rivalry gone wrong
Harding (left) overcame a troubled upbringing to become a figure skating star, and her fierce rivalry with Nancy Kerrigan captured global attention. But then Kerrigan was injured in an attack that kept her from the 1994 World Championships, where Harding won gold. When Harding and her ex-husband were linked to the attack, she was banned from competition for life and stripped of her medal.
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Blade Runner
Pistorius competed at the 2012 London Games, becoming the first double-amputee to race at the Olympics.
He ran on prosthetic blades, earning him the nickname "Blade Runner."
He became a role model for disabled people until his long, protracted murder trial.
