Oscar Pistorius dodges jail as bail is granted ahead of sentencing

He is currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 08 December 2015 08:13 GMT
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Oscar Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide at his first trial, a sentence now changed to murder
Oscar Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide at his first trial, a sentence now changed to murder (Alon Skuy/The Times/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail as he awaits sentencing for murder, after judges overturned his manslaughter conviction.

The South African Olympian and Paralympian now faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence for murdering his girlfriend, 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day, 2013.

Pistorius has appealed against his conviction for murder, taking the challenge to the constitutional court.

His defence lawyer Barry Roux argued he should be allowed to remain on bail, as he has throughout the lengthy legal proceedings.

Both Mr Roux and prosecution lawyer Gerrie Nel agreed on stricter house arrest conditions.

Mr Nel told the court: "We feel strongly that he should not leave the house at any time."

Judge Aubrey Ledwaba said he would allow Pistorius to leave the house every day between 7am and midday, but only to travel within a 20km radius.

He must not leave the district of Tshwane and must hand over his passport and not apply for a new one.

He will not be allowed to leave the house without the written permission of the investigating officer and will be electronically tagged.

Pistorius's bail was fixed at 10,000 rand (£457), cancelling the previous 1m (£45,800) rand guarantee because, according to his lawyer, he "doesn't have that money".

Pistorius guilty of murder

According to his new bail affidavit, he is studying law through correspondence at the London School of Economics.

His case has been postponed until 18 April next year.

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