Free Republic

Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was granted parole Friday, 10 years after shooting his girlfriend through a toilet door at his home in South Africa in a killing that jolted the world. Department of Corrections spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Pistorius would be released from prison on Jan. 5. Pistorius, who turned 37 this week, has been in jail since late 2014 for the Valentine’s Day 2013 killing of model Reeva Steenkamp, although he was released for a period of house arrest in 2015 while one of the numerous appeals in his case was heard....

A South African court has increased Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius's jail sentence for killing his girlfriend to 13 years and five months. Prosecutors had argued that the six-year term for murdering Reeva Steenkamp was "shockingly light". *snip* The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein has now given Pistorius the minimum 15 years prescribed for murder in South Africa, less time already served.

Hours before the most romantic day of the year, Oscar Pistorius' model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp tweeted: "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay". Her excitement for the big day was palpable on her Twitter feed. Replying to one response she tweeted: "That sounds amazing! Wow that's what it's all about! It should be a day of love for everyone :) may it be blessed!"

Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete who became famous as the 'Blade Runner' when he competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend after model Reeva Steenkamp was shot inside his South African home. Steenkamp, a model who spoke out on Twitter against rape and abuse of women, was shot four times in the predawn hours in the home, in a gated community in the capital, Pretoria, police said.