Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius could be a free man in two year’s time.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has amended its ruling and now allows for Pistorius to be eligible for parole in March 2023.
This decision has devastated the family of his victim Reeva Steenkamp.
It has emerged that the judgement failed to take into account the more than 500 days Pistorius had already served in prison.
He was convicted for shooting Reeva on Valentine’s Day in 2013 at his home in Pretoria.
He claimed that he thought she was a burglar when he fired four shots through a closed toilet door.
In July 2016, Pistorius was initially found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to 6 years, but when he appealed the sentence it was changed to murder and the sentence more than doubled to 15 years.
The Steenkamps’ legal representative Tania Koen, said the court’s decision could not have come at a worse time, with the anniversary of Reeva’s death coming up on Sunday.
She said Reeva’s parents June and Barry Steenkamp were frustrated and sad, even though they understood that everyone makes mistakes.
Pistorius’s father Henke Pistorius said his son understood that parole was a privilege, reports the Pretoria News.
“Oscar has done great things in his life, and I always tell him that he will still do more great things after he is released from prison.”
Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said at this stage they would not confirm a date for Pistorius’s parole as certain processes need to be followed.