PRETORIA, South Africa, Oct. 19 (UPI) — Former Olympian Oscar Pistorius was released from a South African prison Monday to serve the rest of his term under house arrest, authorities said.
The release came a day early to avoid a media frenzy, the department of correctional services said in a statement. Pistorius was taken directly from Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre to his uncle’s residence where he will serve the remainder of his five-year sentence.
“Oscar Pistorius was placed under correctional supervision tonight. The handling of the actual placement is an operational matter of the local management, and how they handle it is their prerogative that is carried out in the best interest of all parties concerned, the victims, the offender and the department of correctional services,” the statement said.
Pistorius was convicted last year of culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp to death in his house in Pretoria on Valentine’s Day 2013. The former athlete said he had mistaken her for an intruder. The court believed he did not intend to kill her.
Scheduled for release to house arrest in August for good behavior, Steenkamp’s family objected and a South African court intervened.
“We have forgiven Mr. Pistorius,” Steenkamp’s family wrote to the parole board. “However, a person found guilty of a crime must be accountable for their actions. Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough.”
Pistorius is expected to remain under house arrest unless an appeal by prosecutors returns the former Olympian to jail. Pistorius’s uncle, Arnold Pistorius lives in a converted three-story church on a lavish estate in the upscale Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof.
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