Pretoria : South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is expected to walk out of prison next week after serving a year for killing his girlfriend — but he could soon be back behind bars.
The star athlete was sentenced in October 2014 to five years in prison for culpable homicide — a charge equivalent to manslaughter — and is now eligible for release into house arrest after serving more than a sixth of his sentence.
Pistorius was initially due to be freed in August. But intervention by the minister of justice led to a series of delays before the parole board announced Thursday that he would be released on October 20.
Prosecutors have filed an appeal against the culpable homicide verdict, arguing that he should have been convicted of murder over the killing of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. If they win their case, which is due to be begin in the Supreme Court on November 3, the 28-year-old could face at least 15 years in jail.
“He’s not ‘out’ on parole… he’s having his sentence converted to a house arrest sentence,” said criminal lawyer David Dadic. “He’s now confined to a house for a period,” said Dadic. “They’ll confine him essentially to what he would be doing in prison but in the confines of his own house.”