Olympic Gold Medalist Oscar Pistorius Released From Prison, Under House Arrest for Murder

Olympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius was released from prison in South Africa on Monday and placed under house arrest for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Last week, a South African parole board said it had approved his placement under house arrest and correctional supervision for four years, CNN reports.

The athlete, who has set records for the 400-meter and 4x100 meter relays, had been in prison since October of last year when a judge sentenced him to five years for culpable homicide in the killing of the South African model and law school graduate found dead in Pistorius' home on Valentine's Day 2013. He has said she was an intruder.

Steenkamp's attorney, Tania Koen, says the family publicly questioned the August verdict and said the disgraced athlete's early release made no difference, according to Reuters.

"To them it doesn't matter whether he was released yesterday, a few hours earlier or a few hours later," Koen said to Reuters. "Whether he remains incarcerated or not, it makes no difference to them now because Reeva is still not coming back."

The double-amputee track star was freed due to South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars. Pistorius will have strict boundaries while under house arrest. Karen van Eck, an attorney at Clarke and Van Eck, says, "The conditions are strict and he will be able to leave the house to go to work, go to church or to buy groceries."

Pistorius will live with a family member in the wealthy suburb of Waterkloof in the capital of Pretoria. Family spokesperson Anneliese Burgess spoke outside of the family home and said, "The family is happy that Oscar is home, but they want to make the point that his sentence continues."