South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is likely to be released from prison in August – after serving just ten months of a five year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius was convicted of “culpable homicide” – similar to manslaughter – in October 2014, after shooting Steenkamp four times and killing her.
Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a bathroom door on Valentines Day of 2013, claiming in his defense to have mistaken her for an intruder. Following Steenkamp’s death reports emerged about her being afraid of her partner and planning to end their relationship the night she died, casting public doubt on Pistorius’ version of events. The trial revealed evidence that Steenkamp felt “attacked” by him and “needed protection” from her partner.
If Steenkamp was the victim of domestic violence, she was one of far, far too many. In 2009 it was reported that three women per day were killed as a result of domestic violence in South Africa, according to anti-violence organisation Gun Free South Africa.
But despite the evidence showing that Pistorius fired four shots at Steenkamp and may have had a history of intimidation and violence in their relationship, the perpetrator will be home from prison just ten months after he arrived.
He will be released on probation under “correctional supervision” and may spend time under house arrest, but will not have to see out his five year prison sentence. The recommendation for his release was made by the case management team at the facility where he is being held in SouthAfrica. He is eligible for this early release under South African law because he has now served one sixth of his original sentence.
The victim’s parents have spoken out against the release, saying ten months is “not enough for taking a life”. Their lawyer, Tania Koen, agreed. “Ten months is not enough,” she said.
“It also doesn’t send out the proper message and serve as the proper deterrent as the way it should.”
But the release may not last. Pistorius’ prosecutors will appear before the South African Supreme Court in November to appeal his acquittal for murder. Prosecutors had sought a murder charge in Pistorius’ original trial but he was acquitted of this charge and convicted of culpable homicide instead. The prosecutors will appeal this decision in the hope that the Supreme Court of Appeal will convict Pistorius of murder, ensuring he will be sentenced to a much longer – and considerably less flexible – prison sentence.
The fact remains that Pistorius deliberately fired four shots at Steenkamp and killed her. If he is released after less than a year in prison for the violent taking of another life – accident or otherwise – what message will that send about the law’s treatment of violence, and in particular domestic violence?