Prison authorities in South Africa have denied that Oscar Pistorius's early release from prison on Monday evening amounted to the Paralympian receiving preferential treatment, saying the decision was in "the best interest of all parties".
The former track athlete had been scheduled for release from Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru II prison on Tuesday after serving nearly 12 months of the five-year sentence he received for the culpable homicide (manslaughter) of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on St Valentine’s Day 2013.
Pistorius (28) fired four shots through his bathroom door in the early hours of February 14th, two of which struck and killed Steenkamp. He maintained he had not intended killing the 29-year-old model, but had fired out of fear in the belief an intruder had gained entry to his house.
Despite the scheduled date for Pistorius’s release being yesterday, prison authorities took the decision to sneak him out of their facility under the cover of darkness 12 hours early, thereby ensuring he did not have to run the gauntlet of journalists gathered to report on his release.
Under normal circumstances Pistorius, known as the Blade Runner because of the prosthetic legs he used to race on, would have been taken from Kgosi Mampuru II to the correctional service’s headquarters in Pretoria’s central business district. There the paperwork for his release under house arrest would have been processed prior to him being taken to the address where he is to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Uncle’s house
Instead, the administrative aspect of the process was carried out at the prison, and Pistorius was ensconced in the upmarket Waterkloof home of his uncle
Arthur Pistorius
by 10pm on Monday, unbeknown to all but a few senior prison officials.
Prior to these events, accusations had been levelled at the prison authorities that Pistorius's release under house arrest amounted to preferential treatment, even though it is standard practice. His clandestine release only fuelled those suspicions. International and local media staked out the three locations – Kgosi Mampuru II prison, the correctional service's Pretoria headquarters and Pistorius's uncle's house – where he had been considered most likely to make his first post-prison appearance.
Preferential treatment
Prison officials maintained Pistorius had not received preferential treatment because of his status as a world-famous athlete. “This is not the only case where this has happened. It has happened before,” spokesman
Manelisi Wolela
said, adding that the decision was an operational matter based on factors considered by local management.
Speaking outside Arthur Pistorius's home, family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess would not be drawn on the athlete's emotional state. In a statement, she said the family did not know he was going to be released early. "It's very important for the family to emphasise that Oscar's sentence has not been shortened or reduced. He is simply entering the next step phase of his sentence," she said.
While Ms Burgess could not say what those conditions were, it is believed Pistorius will do community service work. He will be under correctional supervision until 2019 and he is expected to have to undergo weekly psychiatric treatment. In addition, if Reeva Steenkamp’s family seek to meet him, he will have to acquiesce to their request.
