Pistorius out of jail three months before murder acquittal appeal
PARALYMPIC superstar Oscar Pistorius is due to be released on parole in August after serving just 10 months of a five-year sentence for the culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
South African doubleamputee athlete Pistorius is likely to be placed under house arrest when released from a Pretoria prison on 21 August. A state appeal against his acquittal on murder charges, which could see him sentenced to at least 15 years, is set to be heard in November.
The family of law graduate and model Steenkamp, who was 29 when shot dead by Pistorius through a bathroom door at his home, said: “Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough. We fear this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should.”
Pistorius, 28, was handed a five year term eight months ago after pleading not guilty to murder.
He said he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder during the early hours of Valentines Day in 2013 and was instead convicted of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.
South African law allows for criminals to be released from prison under supervision after serving one sixth of their sentence.
Pistorius’s legal team failed in March in a bid to prevent the state appealing his murder acquittal. A hearing is set to take place three months after his release.