SOUTH AFRICA-PISTORIUS/PRISON Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's "Blade Runner", is released on parole

Record ID: 136015

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA-PISTORIUS/PRISON Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's "Blade Runner", is released on parole
  • Date: 20th October 2015
  • Summary: PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA (OCTOBER 20, 2015) (REUTERS) WIDE EXTERIOR OF KGOSI MAMPURU 11 CORRECTIONAL CENTRE SIGN FOR KGOSI MAMPURU MANAGEMENT SERVICE VARIOUS OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SPOKESMAN MANELISI WOLELA ON THE PHONE SOUNDBITE (English) CORRECTIONAL SERVICES SPOKESMAN MANELISI WOLELA SAYING: "The Kgosi Mampuru the 2nd Correctional Centre local management has informed us
  • Embargoed: 4th November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7Q0DNASVZBJQ0BBJI4O7GSYGK
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's "Blade Runner", was released on parole on Monday, just short of a year into his five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
    But the disgraced Paralympic gold medallist must serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest, and still has to face an appeal by prosecutors who argue that he should have been convicted of murder rather than 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.
    "The Kgosi Mampuru the 2nd Correctional Centre local management has informed us that they placed Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision. They took him out of the facility to his uncle's house last night after half past seven (1730 GMT)," said Correctional Services Spokesman Manelisi Wolela.
    The athlete, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, will be freed in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.
    The department of correctional services said Pistorius' parole conditions include that the gun enthusiast must undergo psychotherapy and is not allowed to possess a gun.
    Africa's most advanced economy has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime.
    Steenkamp's family have said they are unhappy with Pistorius's sentence and questioned the verdict in public in August.
    Prosecutors argue the verdict should be one of murder because Pistorius must have known that the person behind the door could be killed. The appeal is due to be heard on Nov. 3.
    The state will argue that the trial judge misinterpreted parts of the law and ignored vital evidence. A murder conviction would result in a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
    A panel of five judges will hear the appeal. They could either reject the prosecution's appeal, order a retrial or convict Pistorius of murder themselves, legal experts say.
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