Paralympian who killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been good inmate but

prosecutors are appealing to try to secure murder conviction and stronger

sentence
Oscar Pistoriuss lawyers had argued that the athlete should have been
released and granted house arrest in August.
Oscar Pistorius following the trial judgment in September last year. He will
continue to receive psychotherapy and will not be allowed to possess a firearm.
Photograph: Kim Ludbrook/EPA
Nadia Khomami and agencies
@nadiakhomami
Thursday 15 October 2015 13.37 BST Last modified on Thursday 15 October
2015 17.53 BST
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Oscar Pistorius is to be released from prison and into house arrest next week,
12 months after he was sentenced to five years for killing his girlfriend, Reeva
Steenkamp.

In a statement, South Africas department of correctional services said the 28year-old Paralympian would be released on Tuesday and placed under
supervision. It indicated that Pistorius has been a good inmate and qualifies for
house arrest, a routine procedure in South Africa.

Full details of the conditions were not revealed by the corrections department,
although it did say that Pistorius would have to continue receiving
psychotherapy and would not be allowed to possess a firearm.

Criminal lawyer David Dadic said: Hes not out on parole hes having his
sentence converted to a house arrest sentence. Hes now confined to a house
for a period. Theyll confine him essentially to what he would be doing in prison
but in the confines of his own house.

Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years but short sentence fiercely criticised

Read more
After a seven-month trial, Pistorius was convicted in September last year of
killing Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013. He was found guilty of culpable
homicide, a charge equivalent to manslaughter, after saying during the trial
that he shot his girlfriend through a locked bathroom door because he mistook
her for an intruder.

He was due to be moved to house arrest in August after serving 10 months

behind bars, but Michael Masutha, the justice minister, referred the matter
back to the parole review board, sowing legal confusion and doubts over the
release date.

A parole hearing to decide whether Pistorius should be released from prison

early was postponed last week.

Steenkamps parents say Pistorius killed their daughter on purpose and have
consistently opposed parole. Steenkamp would have turned 32 in August. That
month, her mother, June Steenkamp, told a South African tabloid: For our
beautiful daughter for anyones life its definitely not long enough. She was
robbed of her future, her career, her chance to get married and have a baby.

On 3 November prosecutors will appeal to South Africas supreme court to try

to secure a murder conviction and a stronger sentence for Pistorius. If they win
their case, he could face at least 15 years in jail.

I think the chances are pretty good that the appeals court will rule in favour of
the state and overturn the verdict, said Ulrich Roux, a criminal lawyer in
Johannesburg. He is faced with the unusual circumstance that hes released on
house arrest and then the court could find him guilty of murder and hell have
to return to prison.

Pistorius, whose legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months
old, has no immediate hope of salvaging his athletic career whatever the
outcome of the appeal. There is speculation that he will serve his house arrest
at his uncles house a mansion in an upmarket Pretoria suburb where he
lived during his trial. His previous home, where he shot Steenkamp, was sold
for 220,000 to pay his legal fees.

June Steenkamp interview: Now its crystal clear Reeva is never coming back
Read more
Martin Hood, another criminal lawyer in Johannesburg, said: I think hes going
to come out very quietly, and very discreetly and hes going to disappear and
stay off the radar. If he breaches any of his conditions hell lose his house
arrest.

A typical offender under house arrest has his movements restricted and is not
allowed to drink alcohol, but conditions vary widely. He may have an electronic
tag and he would also be subject to correctional services visits, Hood said,
adding that Pistorius could have to serve community service in a hospital or
morgue.

Pistoriuss trial exposed the athletes darker side, offering glimpses of a

dangerously volatile man with a penchant for guns, women and fast cars.

The athlete sobbed and vomited in the dock as details of his lovers brutal
death were examined in detail during the trial.

Zach Modise, correctional services head, said Pistorius, who has been housed in
Pretorias Kgosi Mampuru II prison, initially wrestled with his sentence, but then
committed to reform.

At the beginning he could not understand that you get locked up in a cell. He
struggled with that, Modise told South Africas Sunday Times. I think hes
getting to understand you have to control your anger and temper. I hope when
he gets released on probation he will be able to conduct himself well.