Oscar Pistorius will stay in jail after a decision to
grant him parole was again delayed Monday, his
lawyer told AFP, in a long battle over whether he
should be released early from a prison sentence for
killing his girlfriend.
South Africa’s parole review board — the final
recourse for parole disputes — met on Monday to
determine if the Paralympic star, 28, should be
allowed out on house arrest.
“They’re going to refer the matter back to the
(original) parole board,” Brian Webber, a lawyer
representing Pistorius, told AFP after the review
board meeting.
The double-amputee sprinter was sentenced last
year to five years in prison for killing model and law
graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day
2013, the culmination of a trial that attracted global
headlines.
He was found guilty of culpable homicide — a
charge equivalent to manslaughter — after saying
during the trial that he shot his girlfriend through a
locked bathroom door because he mistook her for
an intruder.
Pistorius was due to leave prison in August until
Justice Minister Michael Masutha made a last-
minute intervention blocking his release.
Masutha said the parole board had made a mistake
when they approved Pistorius for early release, but
his intervention has been widely criticised by legal
experts.
“This process is becoming a little bit unfair because
of political interference… it just makes our
administrative systems in South Africa look very
poor,” criminal lawyer Martin Hood told AFP.
“If a person has good behaviour and has served
one sixth of their sentence, then there’s no reason
not to grant them parole, it’s a tick-the-box
exercise.
“What they’re doing is passing the buck.”
The latest delay means Pistorius could still be in jail
next month when a court hears an appeal by
prosecutors that could keep him behind bars for a
minimum of 15 years.
The prosecutors are pursuing a murder conviction
and a longer sentence, arguing that Pistorius
deliberately killed Steenkamp after an argument.
That hearing has been set for November 3.
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http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/pistorius-to-stay-in-jail-as-parole-decision-delayed/