Before his shocking arrest and conviction for murdering his model girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius was South Africa’s golden boy — and an inspiration to many around the world.
Pistorius, who had his lower legs amputated as a baby, had become an Olympic sprinter whose high-tech prosthetics earned him the nickname “Blade Runner.”
Now the 37-year-old athlete is back in the spotlight: on Friday he was released from prison on parole.
Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp through the locked bathroom door of his mansion in the South African city of Pretoria on Valentine’s Day 2013, killing her.
He has always maintained he was acting in self-defense, saying he mistook her for a home intruder in a country with high crime.
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The Steenkamp family and prosecution, however, painted a portrait of a macho and jealous man, who killed his girlfriend in cold blood during an argument.
After a lengthy televised trial that gripped the globe, and appeals and much legal wrangling, he was ultimately found guilty of murder and sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison.
On Friday he walked out of the Pretoria prison, after serving half of his sentence, toward an uncertain future.
“Has there been justice for Reeva? Has Oscar served enough time?” Reeva’s mother June said in a statement released Friday. “There can never be justice if your loved one is never coming back, and no amount of time served will bring Reeva back. We, who remain behind, are the ones serving a life sentence.”
In addition to athletic achievements, Pistorius was once known for his model girlfriends, fast car-driving, guns and parties. While in prison though, he has been studying the Bible, his father told Britain’s The Times newspaper.
He is expected to go to his uncle’s house in Pretoria, where he will be monitored for the remainder of his sentence ending in 2029, South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services said Wednesday ahead of Pistorius’ release.
