Oscar Pistorius’ chances of jail release boosted after victim Reeva Steenkamp’s mum decides NOT to oppose his parole bid

OSCAR Pistorius’ chances of jail release have been boosted after the mother of his victim Reeva Steenkamp decided not to oppose his parole bid.

June Steenkamp, despite being adamant that Pistorius should remain behind bars, said she will not go against his emergency release plea on Friday.

AFPSouth African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius faces parole hearing on Friday[/caption]

Getty – ContributorHe was found guilty of shooting his girlfriend and model Reeva Steenkamp dead[/caption]

ReutersJune Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp has decided not to oppose his parole bid[/caption]

Both Mrs Steenkamp and her husband Barry Steenkamp – who passed away in September – strongly opposed his earlier appeals for prison release.

Earlier this year Mr Steenkamp told MailOnline that Pistorius “should remain behind bars”.

June Steenkamp added: “I couldn’t see myself going without hurting him. I didn’t want to go to jail for attacking him. That would have been a great possibility.

“Things haven’t got better. It gets worse as time goes by because we miss Reeva every day that she is not here with us.

“It’s very, very stressful that she couldn’t spend our last days with us because he took her.

“Oscar has taken a lot away from us and her. So now instead of getting upset, I get angry. I am angry with him. It is a horrible thing to say, but I can’t stand him.”

While no reason was given for the about-turn decision, it is believed that the death of Barry has played a key role in changing the mind of the victim’s family.

However, she is still expected to deliver a “powerful” statement on Friday during Pistorius’ emergency parole bid hearing on November 24.

Pistorius, who turned 37 today, shot dead model Reeva, 29, through the locked door of the bathroom of his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.

The ex-sprinter,  who was known worldwide as the “Blade Runner” because of his carbon-fibre prosthetics, claimed he mistook her for an intruder.

Following a lengthy trial and several appeals, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months behind bars in 2017.

He was initially sentenced to six years in jail but the term was doubled after the state appealed it was too lenient.

In 2017, The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Pistorius should serve South Africa‘s minimum sentence of 15 years for murder.

It took into account the year and seven months he had already served when it delivered the previous sentence of 13 years.

Since prisoners in South Africa are automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half of their sentence, Pistorius’ lawyers appealed for an early release in March 2023.

But his application was rejected during a closed-door hearing as he “did not complete the minimum detention period”, it was reported.

The court, however, made an error by not counting another period Pistorius had served while his murder sentence was being appealed.

It meant that he was, in fact, eligible for parole earlier this year when he was told at his first hearing that he would only be eligible in August 2024.

Pistorius’ lawyers took his case to the country’s apex Constitutional Court – and now the Paralympian has been given another shot at his freedom.

The Department of Corrections stated a parole board on November 24 will decide whether the inmate is “suitable or not for social integration”.

However, even if the ex-athlete wins his freedom, he will be kept under close police protection due to fears of revenge attacks from Johannesburg’s underworld, the MailOnline reported.

ReutersMr Steenkamp, who passed away in September, was against the Pistorius’ jail release[/caption]

APPistorius was arrested in February 2013 and was given a 13-year prison sentence[/caption]

The former Paralympian ran in the 2012 London Olympic games