Oscar Pistorius may win his bid for freedom after prosecutors admitted they made a mistake by rejecting earlier bids for parole.
The 36-year-old man murdered girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp just seconds before Valentine’s Day.
Pistorius will get a new chance for release at an emergency parole hearing on Friday.
Both the disabled man’s family and lawyer are confident that South African prosecutors will let him go.
Oscar Pistorius murdered Reeva Steenkamp in 2013
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If Pistorius is freed, he will reportedly be kept under tight security.
There are fears that Johannesburg’s underworld may take revenge on the athlete who previously raced in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Pistorius was reportedly declared ineligible for release from prison in March.
On Friday, the South African Parole Board will decide whether Pistorius is suitable for social integration.
Reeva’s family wants their daughter’s killer to remain behind bars.
His father, Mr Barry Stevenkamp, ​​died in September.
However, before their deaths, the couple had insisted that Pistorius should remain in prison and serve his sentence – having been sentenced to 13 years and five months for murder.
Mr Steenkamp told the Daily Mail at the time: “He’s a murderer. He should stay in prison.”
If Pistorius gets his way, he will be released a few years ahead of schedule.
Pistorius broke barriers during his time in athletics and was once seen as the poster boy for Paralympians around the world.
His sentence was commuted to murder and, according to South African rules, criminals must serve a minimum of eight years before being eligible for parole.
Pistorius was originally sentenced to only six years, but after several appeals, he was given a longer sentence.
However, after South African prosecutors made a mistake, Pistorius had previously been eligible for parole in March.
However, that being the case, his freedom is not guaranteed.
A number of factors will be taken into account, including his conduct and disciplinary record behind bars.
Pistorius’ mental health and the possibility of him committing another crime will also be considered.
Full parole is an option, while Pistorius could be placed on one-day parole instead.
He will be allowed to live and work in the community before returning to prison at night.
Mrs Steenkamp said earlier this year that she had refused to meet Pistorius and that she wanted to hurt him, just as he had hurt her.
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“I couldn’t see myself moving forward without hurting him,” she said.
“I didn’t want to go to jail for attacking him. That would have been a huge possibility.
“Things have not gotten better. It is getting worse as time passes because we miss Riva every day that she is not with us.
“It’s very, very stressful that she couldn’t spend our last days with us because he took her.
“The Oscars have taken a lot away from us and from him.
Oscar Pistorius gets 13 years and five months for murder of Reeva Steenkamp
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“So now instead of being upset, I feel angry.
“I’m angry at him. It’s a terrible thing to say, but I can’t stand him.”
