Oscar Pistorius released from South African prison to serve rest of sentence under house arrest

Oscar Pistorius was released from a South African prison on 19 October and will serve the rest of his five-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend under house arrest. The 28-year-old South Africa's "Blade Runner," was released just short of a year into his sentence.

According to Reuters, the disgraced Paralympic gold medalist will have to face an appeal by prosecutors who have argued he should have been convicted of murder and not culpable homicide. Pistorius, who was convicted of shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeve Steenkamp, will serve house arrest in the Pretoria home of his uncle Arnold Pistorius.

Within the guidelines of his parole, Pistorius must undergo psychotherapy and is barred from owning a gun. The Steenkamp family has said they are unhappy with his sentencing and publicly questioned it in August.

"We have forgiven Mr. Pistorius. ... However, a person found guilty of a crime must be accountable for their actions," the family wrote to the parole board in June, just ahead of his August parole hearing. "Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough."

Steenkamp family attorney Tania Koen added: "Nothing is changed in their lives. Reeva is not coming back." Reuters reported that prosecutors will argue that the verdict should be for murder because the athlete must have known that whoever was behind the door he shot through would be killed.

The former Olympic athlete shot and killed his model girlfriend on Valentine's Day 2013. He claimed he mistook her for an intruder when she was in their bathroom. In October 2014, Judge Thorkozile Masipa ruled that Pistorius did not commit murder and that he did not intend to kill Steenkamp. However, she did rule his conduct as "negligent" and subsequently found him guilty of culpable homicide.

A South African parole board announced last week that it had approved Pistorius's placement under house arrest and correctional supervision for the remainder of his sentence. He had served his prison time at Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre. An appeal will be heard on 3 November.