The parole review board will on September 18 consider whether to release Oscar Pistorius on correctional supervision.
The disabled athlete’s family confirmed yesterday that the date had been set but would not say anything further.
Pistorius was set for release on August 21 but it was blocked by Minister for Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha two days earlier.
Pistorius, 29, was jailed in October after being convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29.
He claimed he thought she was an intruder, when he shot Steenkamp through the toilet door in his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, but would be allowed to apply to have his sentence converted to correctional supervision after serving one-sixth, which would have been 10 months.
The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board in June approved Pistorius’s release on August 21, the day he would have served 10 months behind bars. Masutha reviewed the processes followed after he received a petition from the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa, asking him not to allow Pistorius's release as it would be “insensitive” to do so during August, which is Women’s Month.
Masutha said the decision to release him was taken prematurely because the parole board considered him for release before he had served 10 months.
Masutha suspended the decision and referred it to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board (CSPRB).
Yesterday, Zodwa Mtsweni of the Department of Correctional Services, said the department and justice ministry would not answer any questions about the matter “as the CSPRB dealing with the matter is an independent structure operating distinct from the department and the ministry”.
Masutha's spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga, could not be reached for comment.
According to the Correctional Services Act, the CSPRB is selected from the national council for correctional services and consists of a judge, director of public prosecutions or someone appointed by him, member of the department of correctional services, correctional system expert and two representatives of the public.
The CSPRB may confirm the decision of the parole board or substitute it with another decision. Should the CSPRB decide in Pistorius’s favour, he could be out of prison before the state asks the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to convict him of murder.
In heads of argument filed at the SCA this month, the prosecutors asked the SCA to reconsider Judge Thokozile Masipa's decision to acquit Pistorius of murder. They said Pistorius's actions showed that he knew he could kill someone.
Pistorius's lawyers must file their answering papers by September 17. The case is set to be heard during November, but an exact date has not been determined yet.
Oscar decision set for next month
The disabled athlete’s family confirmed yesterday that the date had been set but would not say anything further.
Pistorius was set for release on August 21 but it was blocked by Minister for Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha two days earlier.
Pistorius, 29, was jailed in October after being convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, 29.
He claimed he thought she was an intruder, when he shot Steenkamp through the toilet door in his Pretoria home on February 14 2013.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, but would be allowed to apply to have his sentence converted to correctional supervision after serving one-sixth, which would have been 10 months.
The Correctional Supervision and Parole Board in June approved Pistorius’s release on August 21, the day he would have served 10 months behind bars. Masutha reviewed the processes followed after he received a petition from the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa, asking him not to allow Pistorius's release as it would be “insensitive” to do so during August, which is Women’s Month.
Masutha said the decision to release him was taken prematurely because the parole board considered him for release before he had served 10 months.
Masutha suspended the decision and referred it to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board (CSPRB).
Yesterday, Zodwa Mtsweni of the Department of Correctional Services, said the department and justice ministry would not answer any questions about the matter “as the CSPRB dealing with the matter is an independent structure operating distinct from the department and the ministry”.
Masutha's spokesman, Mthunzi Mhaga, could not be reached for comment.
According to the Correctional Services Act, the CSPRB is selected from the national council for correctional services and consists of a judge, director of public prosecutions or someone appointed by him, member of the department of correctional services, correctional system expert and two representatives of the public.
The CSPRB may confirm the decision of the parole board or substitute it with another decision. Should the CSPRB decide in Pistorius’s favour, he could be out of prison before the state asks the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to convict him of murder.
In heads of argument filed at the SCA this month, the prosecutors asked the SCA to reconsider Judge Thokozile Masipa's decision to acquit Pistorius of murder. They said Pistorius's actions showed that he knew he could kill someone.
Pistorius's lawyers must file their answering papers by September 17. The case is set to be heard during November, but an exact date has not been determined yet.
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