Oscar Pistorius, a former Paralympic champion and convicted murderer, is legally eligible for parole after South Africa’s Constitutional Court found he had completed more than half of his sentence, according to the BBC.
Pistorius, 36, was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013 and was sentenced to five years in prison at first. However, on appeal in 2015, he was convicted guilty of murder, and his sentence was later doubled to 13 years and five months.
The Constitutional Court declared on Monday that Pistorius had served half of his sentence as of March 21 this year, making him theoretically eligible for parole. The double-amputee athlete known as “The Blade Runner” first appeared before a parole board in March of last year, but authorities ruled he was ineligible since he had not served half of his sentence.
The concerns with Pistorius’ parole eligibility stem from his time in prison, which included events like as appeals and his stay under house arrest, according to the BBC. In a statement, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) stated that it will evaluate the Constitutional Court’s decision.
Pistorius is reported to have shot Steenkamp four times through the door of his bedroom toilet on Valentine’s Day in 2013. However, the paralympic winner maintains that he shot his girlfriend through the bathroom door mistaking her for an intruder.
Before the murder, Pistorius was well regarded for making history as the first amputee sprinter to compete in the Olympics while wearing prosthetic “blades” in 2012. His legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old since he was born without fibula bones.