The jury is still out on whether convicted murderer Donovan Moodley should be released on parole after his hearing got under way at the Johannesburg Prison on Wednesday morning.
Moodley was convicted and sentenced for the murder of Leigh Matthews in 2004.
This after he had abducted Matthews from the university precinct in Sandton where Matthews was studying.
After kidnapping her, Moodley held Matthews captive while demanding a ransom from her family, but shot and killed her when he received a R50 000 payment.
After pleading guilty to charges of murder, kidnapping and extortion, Moodley was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for kidnapping, and 10 years for extortion.
In January 2022 the convicted murderer, who has been eligible for parole since 2018, had his application to be set free on parole rejected. However, he managed to petition the high court in Johannesburg to set that decision aside.
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said parole hearings are in line with the Correctional Services Act, Criminal Procedure Act, and the victims charter.
“Parole hearings are a platform where a victim or victims of crime may make representations either in writing, in person or through audio-visual communication. The same courtesy has to be afforded to inmates,” Nxumalo said.
“It has to be highlighted that parole hearings are not a platform to either rerun the trial or to seek confessions, but this is in line with the Correctional Services Act, Criminal Procedure Act, and the victims charter.”
Luke Lamprecht, spokesperson for Women and Men against Child Abuse, said the organisation does not believe that Moodley has been rehabilitated.
“We still do not believe that we have the full truth. We still don’t believe that he has shown remorse,” said Lamprecht.
“We still don’t believe that he has been rehabilitated.”
A decision had not been announced regarding Moodley’s parole application at the time of publishing on Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, former paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will hear the verdict of his application to be released on parole on Friday.
Pistorius was sentenced to 13 years in jail for the murder of his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013.
In his defence, he said he thought Steenkamp was an intruder when he shot her through the bathroom door. During trial, he pleaded guilty and was charged with culpable homicide.
This is a developing story …
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