By Bhargav Acharya
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South African former Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, jailed in 2014 for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was granted parole effective from Jan. 5, the Department of Correctional Services said on Friday.
Known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, Pistorius went from a public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted killer in hearings that caught the world’s attention a decade ago.
Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court but the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of murder after an appeal by prosecutors.
He was sent back to jail for six years in 2016, less than half the 15-year minimum term sought by prosecutors.
In 2017, the Supreme Court more than doubled his sentence to 13 years and five months, saying the six-year jail term was “shockingly lenient”.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Nick Macfie and Toby Chopra)
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