Oscar Pistorius is hoping to get out of jail as early as August – and wants parole terms which will allow him to work with disadvantaged children once he is out.
The South African athlete, 28, is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide after admitting fatally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp four times through a bathroom door on Valentine’s Day 2013.
But despite only being sentenced in October last year, under South African law he becomes eligible for parole after serving just 10 months – which means he could be out as early as August.
Now a lawyer for the former Paralympic champion says he wants to work with disadvantaged youngsters in an attempt to get his life back on track
Pistorius’s lawyer, Rohan Kruger, told the UK Sunday Times newspaper that the athlete spends about 23 hours of his day in an isolation wing and spends most of his time reading the Bible and praying in his cell.
Kruger told the Sunday Times that Pistorius was “destroyed” and is still “in bits and in shock” about Steenkamp’s death. He said in “no way has [Pistorius] come to terms with what has happened to him”.
The lawyer said the athlete is keen to work with children in “whatever opportunity will present” itself.