Oscar Pistorius Reportedly Wants Forgiveness From Victim's Family More Than He Wants To Make Parole

Oscar Pistorius, the South Africian athlete who is currently behind bars for shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, is reportedly desperate to receive forgiveness from her family.

The Olympian shot Steenkamp, a well-known model and advocate against domestic violence, to death inside his Pretoria, South Africa home on Valentine’s Day 2013. He claimed he killed Steenkamp by accident, saying he had mistaken her for an intruder. His allegations were controversial and dividing; some believed his story, while others felt Steenkamp was the victim of gender-based violence.

While a judge initially convicted Pistorius of an equivalent to manslaughter in 2014, the conviction was overturned and he was found guilty of murder the following year. He was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison in 2017, the BBC reported at the time.

Pistorius becomes eligible for parole in 2023, but it appears that is not his main goal.

“He is more concerned about forgiveness than actually getting out on parole,” Bill Schroder, the athlete's former teacher, told The Sun over the weekend. “In fact, he has a real fear about getting parole as he knows they’ll be a backlash.”

Instead, he said Pistorius is more focused on getting forgiveness from his former girlfriend’s family.

“What he really, really wants is forgiveness,” he said, adding, “I said to him that if he had killed my daughter, I doubt I would forgive him.”

Schroder's analysis comes after visiting his former student behind bars at least four times.

Steenkamp’s mom said she had forgiven Pistorius in 2018 but still wanted him punished for his actions, according to The Sun.