Johannesburg, South Africa – Oscar Pistorius, the South African Paralympic athlete who became infamous for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, is set to be released on parole starting January 5. This announcement was made by the Department of Correctional Services this Friday.

Pistorius, once celebrated for his achievements in Paralympic sports and known worldwide as the “Blade Runner” due to his use of carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, experienced a dramatic fall from grace. His trial, which transformed from hero to murderer, garnered global media attention over the past decade.

The tragic incident, where Pistorius fatally shot Steenkamp, occurred on Valentine’s Day in 2013.

Originally, in 2014, Pistorius received a five-year sentence for culpable homicide by the high court. However, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned this in late 2015, convicting him of murder following an appeal by the prosecution.

His sentence was revised to six years in 2016, which was significantly less than the 15-year minimum term that prosecutors had advocated for.

In a subsequent ruling in 2017, the Supreme Court significantly increased his sentence to 13 years and five months, citing the previous six-year sentence as “shockingly lenient.”