Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa — Double amputee South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, served just under a year in prison -- avoiding the worst of South Africa’s prison system, notorious for its drugs, violence, gangs and rape.
After spending the first part of his five-year sentence in the protected environment of a single cell in a hospital wing because of his disability, Pistorius will serve the remaining four years of his sentence at his uncle Arnold Pistorius’ three-story mansion, with its gym, pool, a dozen bedrooms -- according to South African media -- and a sweeping manicured garden in the upscale Waterkloof neighborhood.
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Oscar Pistorius is escorted to a police vehicle to be transported to prison after being sentenced to five years for the negligent killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
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Oscar Pistorius greets his uncle Arnold Pistorius, right, and other family members as he is led out of court in Pretoria. (Herman Verwey / Associated Press)
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Oscar Pistorius after his sentencing at the high court in South Africa. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)
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June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, arrives for the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius in Pretoria, South Africa. Pistorius was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of culpable homicide.
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Oscar Pistorius is led to a police vehicle to be taken to prison. (Antoine de Ras / Associated Press)
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Oscar Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp at a sports awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Nov. 4, 2012. (Frennie Shivambu / EPA)
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, after being found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
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Oscar Pistorius, center, leaves the courthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, on Sept. 11 after the first session of the verdict hearing in his trial for the slaying of Reeva Steenkamp.
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Oscar Pistorius reacts as Judge Thokozile Masipa delivers the first part of her verdict in his murder trial on Sept. 11. The judge acquitted him of murder charges but later convicted him of culpable homicide. (Kim Ludbrook / Associated Press)
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A photo provided by South African police on Feb. 14, 2013, shows a mobile phone, a gun and a blood splatter at the house of Oscar Pistorius, where he shot his girlfriend. (South Africa Police Services / EPA)
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Oscar Pistorius waits in the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 to hear the second part of the judge’s verdict in his murder case. (Alon Skuy / EPA)
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Oscar Pistorius arrives at the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 to hear the conclusion of the judge’s verdict in his murder case. (Gianluigi Guercia / AFP/Getty Images)
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Oscar Pistorius is led through the crowd at the Pretoria High Court on Sept. 12 as he arrives for the verdict hearing in his murder case. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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Members of the public try to get a glimpse of Oscar Pistorius outside North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. (Charlie Shoemaker / Getty Images)
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Local newspapers in Pretoria, South Africa. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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Oscar Pistorius arrives at court to face judgement over the death of his girlfriend. (Stefan Heunis / AFP/Getty Images)
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Members of the ANC Women’s League protest Oscar Pistorius outside the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa. (Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
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Oscar Pistorius leaves the courthouse in Pretoria, South Africa, on May 20. (Themba Hadebe / Associated Press)
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State prosecutor Gerrie Nel, alongside a reconstruction of a toilet cubicle, through which Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp on St. Valentine’s day in 2013. (Antoine de Ras / Associated Press)
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The door through which Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp used as evidence in court on April 14, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa. (Pool / Getty Images)
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Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is seen in the courtroom in Pretoria, South Africa. (Werner Beukes / AFP/Getty Images)
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South African Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius reacts during his trial in the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in Pretoria. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)
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Arnold Pistorius, second right, uncle of Oscar Pistorius, and family members attend Pistorius’ trial in the slaying of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (Themba Hadebe / AFP/Getty Images)
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Carl, brother of Oscar Pistorius, cries as his brother takes the stand at the high court in Pretoria. (Deaan Vivier / AFP/Getty Images)
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Aimee, sister of Oscar Pistorius, cries as her brother takes the stand. (Deaan Vivier / AFP/Getty Images)
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Activists wear T-shirts reading the popular line from Oscar Pistorius’ lawyer Barry Roux, “if I put it to you.” (Marco Longari / AFP/Getty Images)
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Police photographer Bennie van Staden testifies at Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. (DANIEL BORN / AFP/Getty Images)
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June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, and African National Congress Women’s League spokesperson Jackie Mofokeng attend the 13th day of the trial of South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on March 19, 2014. (Themba Hadebe / AP)
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Friends and family of Reeva Steenkamp at the trial of Oscar Pistorius, left, as Pistorius leaves the courtroom. (Phil Magakoe / EPA)
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Oscar Pistorius reacts Thursday in Pretoria high court, where he stands accused of the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. (Pool / Getty Images)
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Forensic investigator J.G. Vermeulen, with a cricket bat in hand, on Wednesday demonstrates how the door through which defendant Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend could have been broken down with the bat. (Werner Beukes / Associated Press)
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Oscar Pistorius leaves court. (Kim Ludbrook / EPA)
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Oscar Pistorius covers his ears as a witness testifies at his murder trial. (Marco Longari / AFP/Getty Images)
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June Steenkamp wipes her face with a tissue at the start the trial of Oscar Pistorius, right, at the high court in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday. (Themba Hadebe / Associated Press)
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As South African runner Oscar Pistorius, center, arrives in a Pretoria, South Africa, courtroom after a lunch break in his murder trial, June Steenkamp, second from right, mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp, looks on. (Herman Verwey / EPA)
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South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius appears at a court hearing in Pretoria last year. (Stephane de Sakutin / AFP/Getty Images)
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Oscar Pistorius buries his face in his hands during his appearance Friday in a Pretoria courtroom to face a charge of murder in the death of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp. The prosecution said it would argue the killing was premeditated murder, the most serious category of offense under South African law. (Antoine de Ras / AFP/Getty Images)
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A police vehicle carrying Oscar Pistorius is surrounded by a media mob at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria. (Stephane de Sakutin / AFP/Getty Images)
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A police officer holds a gun Thursday that was allegedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend of Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius. (Phill Magakoe / Associated Press)
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South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius leaves the starting blocks in a first-round heat of the men’s 400 meters at the 2012 London Olympics. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, Pistorius was acquitted of murder for fatally shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013, when he fired four high-powered bullets into the toilet cubicle where she was. His claim that he believed she was an intruder was accepted by the court. But he was convicted of culpable homicide when the court found he was grossly negligent and reckless in the shooting.
South African officials said Pistorius’ early release late Monday didn’t amount to special treatment but was in line with South African correctional policies, which say offenders who aren’t dangerous are eligible for release after serving a sixth of their sentence.
But critics complained that his jail conditions and early release were in stark contrast to the treatment of another famous South African hip-hop artist, Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye, serving eight years on the same charge -- culpable homicide -- who has been in jail for just under three years.
Maarohanye was initially convicted of murder after he and a friend drag raced their cars through Soweto in 2010 and collided with a group of schoolchildren, killing four of them. His murder conviction was overturned a year ago and replaced with a culpable homicide conviction.
Some South Africans expressed anger on Twitter that Pistorius, who is white, had been released while Maarohanye, who is black, remains in jail. Others called for Pistorius to go back to prison.
“This is how law works, get a good lawyer, u wont stay long in jail, get a whack lawyer, u gon’ rot in jail e.g #OscarPistorius & #Jubjub,” tweeted one South African, Thando Mnguni.
“Kanye said it ‘Racism is still alive. They just be concealing it’ #oscarpistorious #JubJub,” tweeted Johannesburg teacher Amanda Aphane.
“People don’t really want jub jub out they just want to see Oscar back in jail nje,” tweeted another South African with the username @Umjonaiza.
Pistorius, who was due for release Tuesday after a parole board decision last week, was instead released late Monday night, in an apparent effort to avoid a media scrum.
Pistorius’ family released a statement early Tuesday that they were happy he was home and they would support him during the remainder of his sentence.
His brother, Carl Pistorius, seemed to suggest Pistorius rested well in the family home, tweeting Tuesday, “‘The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.’ - E. Joseph Cossman.”
A family spokeswoman, Anneliese Burgess, read a brief statement outside Arnold Pistorius’ home: “It is very important for the family to emphasize that Oscar’s sentence hasn’t been shortened or reduced. He’s simply entering the next phase of his sentence now. He will serve this under the strict conditions that govern correctional supervision.”
Steenkamp’s family had opposed Pistorius’ release, arguing that his crime deserved more time behind bars. However, Steenkamp family lawyer Tania Keon told South African radio that the precise timing of the release was irrelevant to Reeva’s parents, Barrie and June Steenkamp.
“To them, it doesn’t matter whether he was released yesterday a few hours earlier or a few hours later,” she said Tuesday. “Whether he remains incarcerated or not, it makes no difference to them now because Reeva is still not coming back.”
The athlete still faces the possibility of more jail time, with prosecutors due to appeal his acquittal for murder over the shooting. The prosecutors argued Judge Thokozile Masipa erred when she acquitted Pistorius on murder, based on a provision in South African law known as dolus eventualis -- the principle that if you are aware an action may kill someone, and do it anyway, you’re guilty of murder rather than culpable homicide.
The prosecution argues that when he fired four bullets into a small toilet cubicle, Pistorius, a gun expert, must have known the action would kill the person inside, even if he believed it was an intruder.
By the conditions of his release under correctional supervision Pistorius will have to undergo psychotherapy and agree to meet the Steenkamp family, should they wish it. He isn’t allowed to keep a gun, and will have to perform community service.
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