/ 6 October 2015

Parole board denies Pistorius bail, recommends psychotherapy

Parole Board Denies Pistorius Bail, Recommends Psychotherapy

The Parole Review Board (PRB) has recommended that jailed Paralympian Oscar Pistorius be sent for psychotherapy, the department of correctional services said.

Spokesperson Manelisi Wolela said these were some of the directions delivered by the board on Monday as it reviewed Pistorius’s case for possible parole release.

“The PRB also directed that the offender be subjected to psychotherapy in order to address criminogenic factors of the crime he committed. Judge Mailula said the psychotherapy intervention could be implemented even if the offender is, indeed, placed under correctional supervision in terms of Section 276(1)(i) by the Kgosi Mampuru II CSPB.

“The Parole Review Board also directed that sentencing remarks should be considered to determine if any order was issued in terms of section 103 of the Firearms Control Act of 2000 and, if not, consideration should be given to impose such a condition for the duration of the sentence.”

Meanwhile, Pistorius, who is serving a five-year sentence for shooting dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, would remain behind bars.

He said he had mistaken her for an intruder. The double-amputee track star was also sentenced to a further three years, suspended for five years, for discharging a firearm at Tasha’s restaurant in Sandton, Johannesburg, in January 2013.

Pistorius has spent almost a year behind bars and was initially expected to be released on August 21 to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

But just two days before that, Justice Minister Michael Masutha announced that Pistorius would not be released, saying the parole board had acted prematurely when it decided in June that he could be released in August.

In reviewing the case, the chairperson of the review board, Judge Lucy Mailula agreed with Masutha.

She has referred the case back to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB).

It was unclear when the CSPB would reconvene to implement the review board’s decision. – News24