Oscar Pistorius to be released from prison in South Africa on October 20

Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison in Pretoria on Tuesday, following a ruling by South Africa's department of correctional services

Oscar Pistorius is escorted by police officers as he leaves the high court in Pretoria, South Africa. (File) Photo: AP/Themba Hadebe

Oscar Pistorius to be released from jail and moved to house arrest on Oct. 20, it was announced on Thursday.

In a statement, the South African department of correctional services said: "[The board] approved the placement of offender Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision as from 20 October 2015.

"The parole board considered all submissions, including the offender's profile report, the directives of the Parole Review Board and the submission of the victim's family."

Correctional services says Pistorius will remain under correctional supervision until 2019 and be subject to specific conditions.

It is understood Pistorius will have to undergo weekly psychiatric treatment and perform community service.

At first, Pistorius will live under virtual house arrest at his uncle’s home in Pretoria’s upmarket Waterkloof suburb.
He could be eligible to take part in an electronic tagging programme, or will have to check in regularly with a parole officer and at first will be allowed only to leave the house to go to work or to run the occasional errand.



The Kgosi Mampuru II Prison, where paralympian, Oscar Pistorius is held in Pretoria  

Photo: Greatstock / Barcroft Media

As well as the habitual parole conditions including abstaining from alcohol and drugs or touching guns, he is likely to be instructed to undertake anger management courses as well as community service.
He said during his trial that if released, he wanted to work with children but the plans described to work at his uncle’s school in Mozambique are likely to be scuppered by his strict release conditions.
He is also unlikely to be able to compete again since he will most likely not be allowed to go abroad for tournaments.
A spokesman for the Pistorius family said on Thursday: "We have now been informed that Oscar will be released into correctional supervision on the 20th of October. We will not be releasing a statement, and simply wish to confirm the information we have received."
Tania Koen, the Steenkamp’s family attorney, said she received confirmation earlier today.
Last week the parole board postponed the matter to consult with Steenkamp’s parents but they rejected the suggestion, saying they would make no further submission to the parole board save for resubmitting their letter to the original board in which they opposed it.
“I received a call from correctional services who informed me Oscar Pistorius’s parole has been approved and that he would be released on 20 October,” Miss Koen said.
Reeva's parents Barry and June would not be commenting, she said. “They say nothing has changed in their lives, Reeva is still not coming back. Whether Mr Pistorius remains incarcerated or whether he is released, Reeva isn’t coming back so it doesn’t make a difference to them.”

Oscar Pistorius (R) posing with his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp  

Photo: EPA/FRENNIE SHIVAMBU

The former paralympian was sent to Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria on October 20 last year for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
Pistorius was due to be released on August 21, but South Africa’s justice minister blocked the parole at the last minute, saying that proper procedure was not followed by the parole board.
Pistorius, who was the first paralysed athlete to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games, shot dead Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home in Pretoria in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.
He claimed he thought she was a burglar and was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Correctional supervision is usually given to offenders who commit serious crimes but are not deemed to be a danger to the community, and are not best-served by a long stretch in South Africa’s notoriously dangerous and overcrowded prisons.
Pistorius’ good behaviour in prison was taken into account, and his family will have been checked to ensure they will hold him to his release conditions.