South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius leaves the Pretoria High Court on June 15, 2016, after the third day of his resentencing listening to for the 2013 homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is ready to be launched from Pretoria jail on Friday after serving practically 11 years.

Gianluigi Guercia/AFP through Getty Images

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Gianluigi Guercia/AFP through Getty Images

South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius leaves the Pretoria High Court on June 15, 2016, after the third day of his resentencing listening to for the 2013 homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius is ready to be launched from Pretoria jail on Friday after serving practically 11 years.

Gianluigi Guercia/AFP through Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG — Before his stunning arrest and conviction for murdering his mannequin girlfriend, Oscar Pistorius was South Africa’s golden boy — and an inspiration to many world wide.

Pistorius, who had his decrease legs amputated as a child, had change into an Olympic sprinter whose high-tech prosthetics earned him the nickname “Blade Runner.”

Now the 37-year-old athlete is again within the highlight: getting launched from jail on parole on Friday.

Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp by means of the locked lavatory door of his mansion within the South African metropolis of Pretoria on Valentine’s Day 2013, killing her.

He has all the time maintained he was appearing in self-defense, saying he mistook her for a house intruder in a rustic with excessive crime.

The Steenkamp household and prosecution, nonetheless, painted a portrait of a macho and jealous man, who killed his girlfriend in chilly blood throughout an argument.

After a prolonged televised trial that gripped the globe, and appeals and far authorized wrangling, he was finally discovered responsible of homicide and sentenced to 13 years and 5 months in jail.

On Friday he walks out of the Pretoria jail, after serving half of his sentence, towards an unsure future.

In addition to athletic achievements, he was as soon as identified for his mannequin girlfriends, quick car-driving, weapons and events. While in jail although, Pistorius has been studying the Bible, his father instructed Britain’s The Times newspaper.

He is anticipated to go to his uncle’s home in Pretoria, the place he might be monitored for the rest of his sentence ending in 2029, South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services said Wednesday forward of Pistorius’ launch.

“An elevated public profile linked to Pistorius does not make him different from the other inmates nor warrant inconsistent treatment,” mentioned Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesman for the division.

“The general parole conditions will apply to Pistorius. For example, he will be expected to be home at particular hours of the day. He may not consume alcohol or other prohibited substances,” Nxumalo mentioned, including that he wouldn’t be allowed to provide any interviews to media.

He mentioned the previous Olympian should additionally take part in a number of obligatory applications throughout his parole.

The mom of Reeva Steenkamp, June Steenkamp, arrives on the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on March 31, 2023.

Phill Magakoe/AFP through Getty Images

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Phill Magakoe/AFP through Getty Images

The mom of Reeva Steenkamp, June Steenkamp, arrives on the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre in Pretoria on March 31, 2023.

Phill Magakoe/AFP through Getty Images

After the November listening to when Pistorius was granted parole, a spokesman for the Steenkamp household instructed media that one of many parole applications was present process remedy for gender-based violence points.

While the sufferer’s mom, June Steenkamp, didn’t oppose parole, she did voice considerations that Pistorius had not been totally rehabilitated and will pose a risk to different girls.

Steenkamp mentioned Pistorius had not proven regret and all her husband, Barry Steenkamp — who died final yr of what she known as “a broken heart” — had wished was for Pistorius to confess what he did to their daughter.

“I do not believe Oscar’s version that he thought the person in the toilet was a burglar,” June Steenkamp mentioned in that assertion. “In fact, I do not know anybody who does.”

South Africa has excessive charges of violence in opposition to girls, with virtually 900 girls killed from July by means of September final yr alone, in keeping with official crime statistics.

Tania Koen, a lawyer for the Steenkamp household, instructed NPR of Pistorius’ launch: “It is our view that the conditions imposed, specifically with regards to gender-based violence courses, is an important one as it sends a clear message that violence against women will not be tolerated.”

A protection lawyer for Pistorius couldn’t be reached for remark.