Oscar Pistorius Released From South African Prison MEGHAN KENEALLY and DIMITRIJE STEJIC,Good Morning America 2 hours 34 minutes ago
Oscar Pistorius
has been released from a South African prison after serving one day shy
of a year in prison for killing his girlfriend and was staying at his
uncle's house, ABC News has confirmed. A rep for the Department of Correctional Services, Manelisi Wolela, said in a statement the star athlete had been released and that it was the "prerogative" of local prison management as to how to handle such releases.
"They carry it out in the best interest of all parties concerned, the victims, the offender and the Department of Correctional Services," Wolela said.
The double-amputee Olympian, who had been held at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre, fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013.
Reeva Steenkamp's Parents Want Oscar Pistorius to Stay Behind Bars
Pistorius was originally slated to be released from prison in August but the South African justice minister intervened.
He will now spend four years under house arrest.
Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide in September for the Feb. 14, 2013 shooting death of Steenkamp, who he said he mistook for an intruder and fatally shot through the bathroom door.
Pistorius, 28, was sentenced to five years in prison -- but now is free after serving slightly less than a fifth of the sentence.
When he was originally slated to be released in August due to good behavior, Steenkamp’s parents spoke out against it.
“We have forgiven Mr. Pistorius. ... However, a person found guilty of a crime must be accountable for their actions,” her family wrote to the parole board in June. “Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough.”
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World
Oscar Pistorius: From Olympic fame to jail to release
AFP 2 hours 3 minutes ago
Pretoria (AFP) - Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee sprinter who shot his girlfriend dead was freed on parole on Monday, one year into a five-year sentence.Here is a snapshot of the events that began on a fateful Valentine's Day more than two years ago:
- 2013 -
February 14: South African police arrest Pistorius, a Paralympic and Olympic sprinter nicknamed the "Blade Runner", for the killing of model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, shot four times with one of his guns at his Pretoria house.
February 15: Pistorius bursts into tears as he is charged, denying murder "in the strongest terms".
February 19: Pistorius claims in an affidavit that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder and feared that someone had sneaked into his home. He fired through a locked bathroom door in what prosecutors term a "premeditated" murder.
February 20: Police searching Pistorius's home find testosterone and needles in a dresser in his bedroom. Testosterone is on the list of substances banned by the International Olympic Committee. Pistorius's lawyers poke holes in the prosecution's murder case, challenging flawed police work.
February 22: Pistorius is granted bail.
March 11: Pistorius is in deep mourning, but is "certainly not suicidal," his family says.
- 2014 -
February 14: As he marks one year since the shooting, Pistorius says he is consumed with "sorrow" in a message on the internet.
February 25: A judge rules that most of Pistorius's trial can be broadcast live, but not his testimony.
March 3: The trial opens in Pretoria, before an army of journalists from around the world, with the testimony of a neighbour who tells the court she heard "terrible screams" from a woman and shots.
March 13: Pistorius vomits when a picture of the dead model's body is flashed on the court's television screens.
April 7-15: Pistorius takes the witness stand and begins with a tearful apology to Steenkamp's family. This is followed by five days of often intense cross-examination, marked by several bouts of tears and breaks in the session. Pistorius steadfastly denies any intention to kill Steenkamp.
June 30: After a six-week break, a panel of three psychiatrists and a psychologist conclude that Pistorius was not suffering from mental illness.
September 12: Pistorius is found guilty of culpable homicide or manslaughter, but is cleared of murder.
October 21: Judge Thokozile Masipa sentences Pistorius to a maximum of five years in jail. He is immediately taken to Pretoria prison.
November 4: Prosecutors describe the sentence as "shockingly light and inappropriate" in appeal papers.
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