Under South African law, an offender sentenced to five years or less in jail can be released to correctional supervision after serving one-sixth of the term — in Pistorius’ case 10 months.
The full conditions under which Pistorius must live for the next four years have not been released by the corrections department and Burgess would not detail them on Tuesday. Only two conditions for Pistorius’ house arrest were previously made public: Pistorius must continue to undergo psychotherapy while under house arrest and he is not allowed to handle any firearms.
Typically, offenders under correctional supervision can only leave their home for specific reasons, like to attend church or to do grocery shopping. They generally cannot leave the house at night. Pistorius will not be required to wear an electronic tagging device.
Pistorius would “strictly adhere to” the conditions of his release, Burgess said, and his family would “support him.”
Pistorius was acquitted of murder last year for the Valentine’s Day shooting death of Steenkamp, but prosecutors have appealed the trial verdict of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, and will seek a murder conviction again at South Africa’s Supreme Court on Nov. 3.
If Pistorius is convicted of murder by a panel of five judges at the appeal, he faces going back to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty.
Pistorius has maintained that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder in his Pretoria home and killed her by mistake. Prosecutors said he shot her intentionally during an argument after she fled to a bathroom stall.
Following a suggestion by South Africa’s minister of justice that Pistorius should meet with the parents of his slain girlfriend, Tania Koen, the lawyer for Steenkamp’s parents, said they would be open to that.
However, “the timing would have to be right,” Koen told the AP. The proper time would be after Pistorius’ case is heard by the Supreme Court, Koen said, and “he (Pistorius) would have to initiate it.”
On the day she was killed by Pistorius, Reeva Steenkamp was due to give a speech on domestic abuse at a school. Her mother will on Wednesday deliver that same speech at a school in the Steenkamps’ home town of Port Elizabeth, Koen said.
Pistorius, known as “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fiber running blades, gained worldwide fame when he ran against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics, the first amputee runner to compete at the games.
Wolela, the correctional services department spokesman, had previously not ruled out ultimately allowing Pistorius to return to training, although it’s unclear if Pistorius has the desire to revive his once-inspiring athletics career.
Friends Read Free