Out of jail, Pistorius to serve term at home
Print Edition
Oscar Pistorius, South Africa’s double-amputee “Blade Runner,” was released on parole late on Monday, just short of a year into his five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013.
The disgraced Paralympic gold medalist must serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest but still faces an appeal on November 3 by prosecutors who argue that he should have been convicted of murder, not culpable homicide.
Pistorius, 28, who was found guilty of the lesser charge when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door and hit Steenkamp, will be confined to his uncle Arnold’s home in a wealthy suburb of the capital, Pretoria.
Pistorius had been expected to leave prison yesterday, and his early release took media by surprise.
Family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said yesterday that they were glad to have Pistorius home and that the athlete would observe his parole conditions closely.
“The family is happy that Oscar is home, but they want to make the point that his sentence continues,” Burgess said outside the house.
The Department of Correctional Services said officials at the capital’s Kgosi Mampuru II prison, formerly known as Pretoria Central, had acted to avoid a media scrum at its gates.
A lawyer for Steenkamp’s family, who questioned the verdict in August, said they were indifferent to his release in view of their loss.
“To them it doesn’t matter whether he was released yesterday a few hours earlier or a few hours later,” lawyer Tania Koen said on Talk Radio 702. “Whether he remains incarcerated or not, it makes no difference to them now because Reeva is still not coming back.”
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