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South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who is known as the 'blade runner,’ will be released from jail and condemned to house arrest from next Tuesday, according to the BBC. The double-amputee, who lost both his limbs as a child, rose to fame when he competed for South Africa in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012.
Pistorius was sentenced to five years in jail after he was found guilty of manslaughter in 2014.
The athlete, who was living with then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, shot his partner, who he had been dating since November 2012, to death through a locked bathroom door. At an inquest following her death, the South African said he had mistaken her for a home intruder and reacted in self-defense.
In his initial case, the 28-year old was found telling the court that that the death of his girlfriend was accidental, as he had mistaken her for home intruders. According to his testimony he had told his girlfriend to get on the floor, but was not sure as the entire incident took place very quickly. The prosecution, however, felt the sprinter was not telling the truth as several pieces of forensic evidence did not corroborate the South African’s story.
The High Court of South Africa at Pretoria convicted him for manslaughter rather than murder in 2014.
While the prosecution is still pushing for him to be convicted for murder, the case will only be heard on the 3rd of November.
After already spending a year in jail, Pistorius will now spend the rest of his sentence under house arrest, which the South African parole Board describe as “correctional supervision”.
A statement from the South African Department of Correctional Services read, "The Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB) today, 15 October 2015, approved the placement of offender Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision as from 20 October 2015.”
"The parole board met in Pretoria for the second time following a directive of the Parole Review Board, which set aside its earlier decision to place Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision because it was prematurely made."
The statement also added, "The Parole Board has also given the offender his correctional supervision conditions which include the directives of the Parole Review Board in respect of continued psychotherapy and prohibitions in line with the Fire Arms Control Act Section 103."
Lucky second time around
While attorneys for the Olympic athlete had earlier tried to secure an August release, South Africa's Justice Minister Michael Masutha had then blocked the decision saying it was "too early.”
His sentiments were echoed by the Steenkamp family, who also felt that Pistorius’ sentence was not proportional to the crime he committed.
The case is one of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent years, both in and outside the world of sport, and has attracted widespread media attention since it first began.
