Pistorius could be a free man as soon as August

The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead by ‘Bladerunner’ Oscar Pistorius, has spoken out against his bid for early release from prison.

The 28-year-old shamed athlete could be released in August – just 10 months after his conviction for model’s manslaughter.

June Steenkamp told her local paper in South Africa her daughter’s killer should not be freed so early into his five-year sentence.

‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to let him back in society so quickly,’ she told The Citizen. ‘He shot my daughter through that door where she had no space to move or defend herself.

‘One of the bullets blew her brains out, it is disgusting what he did to her…10 months is just not enough.’

Mrs Steenkamp, 68, has spoken in the past about forgiving Pistorius for taking her daughter’s life on Valentine’s Day 2013 – when he blasted her four times through the door of a locked bathroom at his home in the South African capital, Pretoria.

She has also said she does not want the double amputee to suffer behind bars, but that he must still be seen to pay for his terrible crime.

‘Justice must be done, otherwise there will be chaos,’ she told the newspaper.

Under the terms of his sentence, Pistorius’ sentence for culpable homicide – or manslaughter – could be converted to ‘house arrest’ for some or all of the remainder of his incarceration.

If prison bosses are minded to grant him home-based supervision, the Paralympian is expected to return the sprawling home of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, with whom he lived following his arrest for Reeva’s murder up until his conviction in October last year.

The four-bedroom home where Pistorius killed the law graduate-turned-model was sold last year to help pay his hefty legal bill.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which charged Pistorius with premeditated murder, has no powers to oppose such a move, even though they are seeking to have the runner’s murder acquittal overturned.  

The views of Reeva’s family about his possible early release from prison are expected to be taken into account by the Department of Correctional Services.

Mrs Steenkamp, who runs a rural pub near the coastal town of Port Elizabeth with her ailing husband Barry, said she would oppose the idea if officials formally approached her for an opinion.

Last week, Pistorius’ lawyer Rohan Kruger, told South Africa’s Sunday Times he was confident his client would be released early from Kgosi Mampuru jail, where he is being held on the hospital wing.

The shamed track star wanted to work with children in an attempt to repay his debt to society, he said.

Mr Kruger said: ‘He will have to lift his head and take it on the chin. He took it on the chin when he got the verdict and he will do the same when he walks through the prison gates in August.

‘The parole conditions will be at their discretion: don’t drink or do drugs, go to church.

‘He’ll have a psychological programme, an anger management course. They will set the parameters and he will keep to them.

‘Oscar is keen to become involved in assisting children in whatever opportunity will present.’

Whether Pistorius is released to his uncle’s comfortable home or not in the coming months, there is a possibility that his jail sentence could be extended further, if the NPA’s appeal against his murder acquittal is successful.

The NPA is also appealing the length of sentence the sprinter was given for the culpable homicide conviction – prosecutors had asked Judge Thokozile Masipa for a ten-year jail term.

There was a brief glimpse of Pistorius’ life behind bars when a grainy video emerged from the prison which showed the athlete playing football with Radovan Krejcir, one of South Africa’s most infamous underworld figures who is a neighbour on the hospital wing.

In the film, the disgraced sprinter appeared to have lost a striking amount of weight.

There have been reports that Pistorius is refusing to eat food prepared in the prison kitchens, for fear of being poisoned.

Instead, the star of the London Olympics survives on tins of food from the jail tuck shop, which he buys with his modest inmate allowance as a low-risk category A prisoner. Daily Mail