According to June, “Oscar has taken a lot away from us and from Reeva. 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.
“I don’t think that he got..."
Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in the early morning of Thursday, 14 February 2013
Pretoria, South Africa — Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp ten years ago, saying he mistook her for an intruder and shot her through the toilet door. With the time he has spent, he might be released shortly.
Reeva's elderly parents, on the other hand, are still lobbying for the former Paralympian to remain in prison, despite the fact that his parole hearing is due, in March 2023.
The family of the deceased model disclosed to MailOnline details of a terrifying jail cell meeting with their daughter's murderer - and why they now feel the culprit should be imprisoned for life.
Reeva's father met with Pistorius last year as part of the Victim-Offender Dialogue, which was mediated by the Department of Correctional Services.
The program is a component of the rehabilitation process for parolees. It tries to bring closure to the victim's family while also giving the criminal the opportunity to ask for forgiveness.
Reeva's father, Barry, went to see Pistorius in prison, but her mother, June, declined. Instead, she sent the athlete a letter.
The couple first forgave the athlete for k!illing their daughter, but because Pistorius failed to acknowledge to them that he purposefully shot their daughter, they decided to oppose his early release.
"I told Oscar directly that he shot my daughter deliberately, and he denied it. He stuck to his story that he thought it was an intruder. After all these years we are still waiting for him to admit he did it in anger. That is all we wanted," Barry told the newspaper.
“If he told me the truth, he would have been a free man by now and I would have let the law take its course over his parole. But I was wasting my time. He is a murderer. He should remain in jail,’’ Barry continued.
Meanwhile, June informed the newspaper that she still disliked Pistorius.
According to June, “Oscar has taken a lot away from us and from Reeva. 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.
“I don’t think that he got enough time (in jail), and if somebody takes a life they must pay with their life in jail,” she concluded.
Pistorius fatally shot Reeva on Valentine's Day in 2014. Pistorius was convicted of culpable murder and sentenced to six years in jail in December 2015.
His accusation was then amended to murder, and his sentence was enhanced to 13 years after an unsuccessful appeal in November 2017.
Correctional Services spokeswoman Singabakho Nxumalo said to Newzroom Afrika that under South African legislation, prisoners are eligible for release after completing half of their term.
“It doesn’t guarantee that the person will be placed on parole, but the person has to be considered in checking whether this person is suitable and ready to be placed out there,” Nxumalo reportedly opined.
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