Oscar Pistorius Quietly Released From Prison After Serving Half Of His Sentence For Girlfriend's Murder

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Oscar Pistorius, the South African Olympian who was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in 2013, was released from prison on parole on Friday after serving half of his 13-year and five-month sentence.

The Department of Correctional Services in South Africa granted Pistorius parole back in November with an effective date of January 5, 2024. This makes his release on Friday unsurprising, but the manner in which it was done is certainly interesting.

Pistorius' trial and the many hearings held in the years following were covered relentlessly, but it's clear authorities didn't want that to be the case upon his release given how quiet it was.

“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024,” the statement read. “He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home.”

Oscar Pistorius Granted Parole A Decade After Murdering Girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius being released from prison on January 5 was a known possibility, and his quiet release has come and gone. (Photo by Marco Longari / AFP / Pool/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

According to the New York Post, Pistorius is expected to be staying at his uncle's home - a three-story mansion - and will live there for the remainder of his parole. The mansion is reportedly surrounded with electronic defenses, several attack dogs, and armed guards.

Shortly before his release from prison, it was alleged that Pistorius had been told by police that he could be an assassination target.

Pistorius’ case was first presented on appeal in 2015 where the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa overturned his original culpable homicide verdict and convicted him of murder. After another appeal in 2017, Pistorious’ sentence was increased to 13 years and five months despite the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa being 15 years.

Pistorius was reportedly told during his first hearing that he would not be eligible for parole until August 2024, but after a counting error by the court was discovered it was proved he was actually eligible for parole in March 2023. His legal team presented these facts, which sped up his parole hearing to November,

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.