Oscar Pistorius’s release from prison put on hold

Paralympic runner, Oscar Pistorius, currently serving a five-year sentence for fatally shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, was due to be moved to house arrest this Friday after serving 10 months of his sentence.

The justice minister of South Africa, Michael Masutha, has halted Pistorius’s release. A statement from the Department of Justice and Correctional Services says the initial approval for release violated the law that an offender must serve at least one sixth of their term before being considered for house arrest. Pistorius came under consideration in June, when he had served eight months, less than a sixth of his five years.

Upon hearing of the parole board’s initial decision to release Pistorius into house arrest, the Steenkamp family released the following statement, “Statistics show that our society is under continuous attack from criminals and murderers. Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough. We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should.”