Tag

In a statement, Masutha indicated that the decision to release Pistorius had been made before he had served a sixth of his sentence.

Pistorius is due to be released on Friday after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence, in line with South Africa’s custodial guidelines for non-dangerous prisoners. However, the Mirror reports that Justice Minister Michael Masutha released a statement saying that...

Nevertheless, Justice and Correctional Providers Minister Michael Masutha reportedly ordered a assessment of the parole board’s choice, stating that the choice of releasing Pistorius was made “prematurely”.

Michael Masutha said he had been prompted to look at the decision to release Pistorius to house arrest, just 10 months into his five-year sentence for shooting Steenkamp dead after mistaking her for a burglar, following an appeal from womens’ groups.

On Wednesday, Justice Minister Michael Masutha ruled a parole board’s June decision to approve Pistorius for house arrest starting this Friday was made prematurely and “without any legal basis” in a statement.

Justice department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said the board made their decision before the athlete was even eligible for parole. It entitles the parole board to place the prisoner on corrective supervision at the one-sixth mark of a sentence – in his case, 10 months into his...