South Africa’s “Blade Runner”, Oscar Pistorius, was on Monday released on parole, just short of a year into his five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Pistorius was released earlier than expected after careful consideration of all factors, state broadcaster SABC quoted the department of correctional services as saying.
The athlete, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, was freed in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars.
But Pistorius must serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest, and still has to face an appeal by prosecutors who argue that he should have been convicted of murder rather than culpable homicide.
The disgraced Paralympic gold medalist was found guilty of the lesser charge when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door and hit Steenkamp, will be confined to his uncle Arnold’s home in a wealthy suburb of the capital Pretoria.
Pistorius was freed on Monday evening, taking media by surprise. A group of reporters gathered at the house, hoping to catch a glimpse of the athlete or a comment from his family.
He is expected to leave prison on Tuesday.