Oscar Pistorius’s parole is back in the spotlight. File Picture: Marco Longari / Pool / Reuters
If Oscar Pistorius is granted parole, his legal team hopes he will be released immediately.
Pistorius is set to appear in court on Friday, where the parole board will consider his parole.
According to Pretoria News, if freed, the paralympian will stay at his uncle’s home in Pretoria.
Pistorius was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day in 2013. Pistorius claimed that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder. She sustained three gunshot wounds and died at the scene.
Pistorius received a sentence of 13 years and five months. However, orders granted by the Supreme Court of Appeal have resulted in the Olympic 'Blade Runner' serving a 16-year and four-month sentence. Pistorius hopes that his latest bid will see him eligible for parole.
He was previously denied parole after the board ordered Pistorius should remain behind bars after it found he had yet to spend the minimum required time behind bars to qualify for parole.
Speaking to AFP, Pistorius' lawyer, Conrad Dormehl, said an immediate placement on parole would be the best-case scenario.
"An immediate placement on parole would be the best-case scenario, which would obviously be before Christmas. We are hoping that the parole board can come to a swift resolution of the matter," Dormehl said.
Meanwhile, Steenkamp family lawyer Tania Koen told the AFP that even if Pistorius's application was successful and he was granted parole, it would be weeks before he would be out of prison.
Koen explained that the Department of Correctional Services will have to follow an internal process that usually takes a month to undergo.
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