Oscar Pistorius Set to Be Released From Prison & Stay Under House Arrest

 

Popular South African double-amputee track star, Oscar Pistorius, who was found guilty of culpable homicide in September over the muder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, is expected to be freed from a South African prison on Friday. He will enter house arrest in his opulent mansion after his release.

It can be recalled that in October of 2014, Pistorious was sentenced to five years in prison over the culpable-homicide verdict, roughly the South African equivalent to manslaughter. His stay in prison will be brief, though, because of the overcrowded nature of South Africa’s prisons, CNN reports, adding that such an early release is hardly unusual in the country.

According to CNN, Pistorius will serve out his sentence at his uncle’s house in an affluent Pretoria suburb and will submit to a number of prerequisites, including “electronic monitoring, community service, required employment — and no alcohol, drugs or firearms.”

His release from prison does not mean Pistorius’s legal issues are over. On Monday, prosecutors will submit their written arguments in their attempt to persuade an appeals court to overturn Judge Thokozile Masipa’s ruling. Prosecutors allege that Pistorius should have been found guilty of murder and not the lesser charge of culpable homicide and that Masipa erred in her interpretation of South African law.

The appeals hearing gets underway in November. If the appeals court sides with the prosecutors, Pistorius faces a much longer prison sentence.

 

Source: CNN / Washington Post