The family of slain PE model Reeva Steenkamp have welcomed the decision by the Justice Minister to refer the decision to release Oscar Pistorius on parole, for review.
The family held a poignant ceremony on a Port Elizabeth beach to commemorate her 32nd birthday on Wednesday.
Justice Minister, Michael Masutha said that it appeared that there was no sound legal basis for the decision of the parole board at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre to grant Pistorius parole.
Masutha said that a convicted person had to serve at least one sixth of their sentence before being considered for placement under correctional supervision.
“It is apparent therefore that the decision to release him on 21 August 2015 was made prematurely on 5 June 2015 when the offender was not eligible to be considered at all,” Masutha said.
“It is therefore clear that there is no legal basis upon which such a decision was made and is in contravention of Section 73 (7) (a) which requires him to have served one sixth of his five years sentence. One sixth of a five years sentence is 10 months and at the time the decision was made Mr. Pistorius had served only over six months of his sentence.”
Masutha said his office had received a petition from the Progressive Women’s’ Movement of South Africa (PWMSA) on August 17 “wherein they expressed their opposition to the imminent release of Mr. Pistorius. In their submission, they request the Minister, in his capacity as the minister of justice and correctional services, not to approve his release citing the Parole Boards’ insensitivity to the release of the offender during Women’s’ Month”.
The statement added: “In considering the petition, it became desirable that he peruses the offender’s profile as well as the decision of the CSPB. In as much as the grounds for the petition cannot be legally sustained, he had to satisfy himself that the CSPB decision and the process followed was in compliance with the law. The Minister further sought legal opinion on whether he is legally empowered to do anything if necessary.”
Masutha said he had to consider the applicable legislation pertaining to the length of sentence for offenders incarcerated under section 276(1)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA).
“Upon perusal of the offender’s profile, he established that Mr. Pistorius was sentenced to five years imprisonment in terms of section 276(1)(i) of the CPA. It is also evident that on the 5th June 2015 the CSPB considered him and took a decision to place him under correctional supervision on the 21st August 2015.
“Section 73(7)(a) of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998, states the following: ‘A person sentenced to incarceration under section 276(1)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Act, must serve at least one sixth of his or her sentence before being considered for placement under correctional supervisor, unless the court directs otherwise.’
Masutha stressed that he was not in a position to make a decision to “approve or disapprove the CSPBs’ decision” except in the case of offenders serving life sentences.
However section 77(1) of the Correctional Services Act enabled him to refer matters to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board (CSPRB) for a review of the decision of the CSPB.
“In the circumstances, the CSPRB has been requested to review the decision of the Parole Board,” he added.
“The consequence of this decision is that the earlier decision of the CSPB to place the offender under correctional supervision is suspended until the Parole Review Board has decided on the matter.”
The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) welcomed the decision, saying it believed that trial Judge Thokozile Masipa handed down “an erroneous judgment and an extremely lenient sentence to Pistorius, setting a bad precedence in cases involving gender based violence especially in instances where women die at the hands of their partners”.
“It is our wish that Pistorius remains in custody until November when the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear the appeal brought by the NPA against the judgment and the sentence.”
On Monday, the State had filed heads of argument in its appeal against Pistorius’s conviction and five-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Valentine’s Day two years ago.
The State is asking the Supreme Court of Appeal to substitute the conviction of culpable homicide with one of murder. This would mean that, if the appeal is successful, Pistorius’s sentence will be substituted with a much heavier one of at least 15 years in prison.
Pretorius’s defence was that he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through a bathroom door of his Pretoria home.
Source: African News Agency
