Johannesburg - Oscar Pistorius's release into house arrest slightly less than a year into his five-year jail term for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp makes no difference to her family, a family lawyer said on Tuesday.
“To them it doesn't matter whether he was released yesterday a few hours earlier or a few hours later,” Tania Koen, a lawyer for Steenkamp's family said on Talk Radio 702.
“Whether he remains incarcerated or not, it makes no difference to them now because Reeva is still not coming back.”
Pistorius was released on parole late on Monday.
The disgraced Paralympic gold medallist must serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest but still faces an appeal on November 3 by prosecutors who argue that he should have been convicted of murder, not culpable homicide.
Pistorius, 28, who was found guilty of the lesser charge when he fired four shots through a locked bathroom door and hit Steenkamp on Valentine’d Day in 2013, will be confined to his uncle Arnold's home in Waterkloof, a wealthy suburb of Pretoria.
Pistorius had been expected to leave prison on Tuesday, and his early release took media by surprise.
Family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said on Tuesday that they were glad to have Pistorius home and that the athlete would observe his parole conditions closely.
“The family is happy that Oscar is home, but they want to make the point that his sentence continues,” Burgess said outside the house.
A bouquet of flowers was delivered to the house on Tuesday although it was unclear who had sent it.
A neighbour who declined to be named told Reuters it was sad Pistorius was freed having served less than a year in prison.
“This is hardly a prison,” she said.
But Dewald Reynders, a former athlete who said he trained with Pistorius in the past, welcomed the news.
Reynders said he'd known Pistorius since 2004 and had seen what effect the media scrutiny had on the then teenage boy.
“I'm glad he was released quietly last night. He shouldn't have to go through all of it over and over again.”
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.
Pistorius will be allowed to leave the house on occasion.
“The conditions are strict and he will be able to leave the house to go to work, go to church or to buy groceries,” said Karen van Eck, an attorney with Clarke and Van Eck Attorneys.
But as his job is competitive athletics this could prove challenging for him, as events far from the house will likely be off limits, said Van Eck.
The Department of Correctional Services said officials at the capital's Kgosi Mampuru II prison, formerly known as Pretoria Central, had released Pistorius on Monday night to avoid a media scrum at its gates.
“The handling of the actual placement is an operational matter of the local management, and how they handle it is their prerogative,” department spokesman Manelisi Wolela said in a text message. “They carry it out in the best interest of all parties concerned.”
Reuters
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