Oscar Pistorius

The prison cell in which Oscar Pistorius stayed at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria.

Inmates sit on the window sills of their cells in the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison, where Oscar Pistorius spent part of his five-year sentence.

Wardens walk down a corridor at Kgosi Mampuru II Prison, where Oscar Pistorius was imprisoned for shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Oscar Pistorius's bathroom at the Kgosi Mampuru II Prison.

The story so far...

Despite Oscar Pistorius's disability he grew up playing a wide range of able-bodied sports. Born in Johannesburg in 1986 with a congenital absence of the fibula, he had both legs amputated just below the knee when he was 11 months old. Rugby had been his sport of choice until 2003, when a serious injury intervened. He was introduced to athletics during his rehabilitation and achieved major successes in South Africa. Pistorius first achieved global fame during the 2004 Athens Paralympics, where he broke the world record for the 200 metres – beating single amputee competitors in the process – and claiming the moniker “the fastest man on no legs”.

Pistorius’ stock continued to rise and following his Paralympic successes he began to be invited to international able-bodied competitions. This brought about his first controversy as the international Athletics governing body deemed his ‘running blades’ as giving him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes. Despite this setback Pistorius continued to champion his case and eventually at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Pistorius became the first amputee to win an able-bodied world track medal. In London in 2012, Pistorius competed in both the Olympics and the Paralympics to universal acclaim, being chosen to carry the South African flag at the Olympics’ closing ceremony. 

As arguably South Africa's most famous sportsman, interest in Pistorius' private affairs heightened. In November 2012, Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp began dating. Reeva was a leading South African model and had been working as a paralegal. Their relationship was described as "healthy and fabulous" by her publicist and they were inevitably termed "South Africa's Posh and Becks". 

On the 14th of February 2014 - Valentines Day - Police were summoned to the property Pistorius shared with Steenkamp in Pretoria. There they found Steenkamp dead, having been shot and killed by Pistorius who said he had mistook her for an intruder. The incident brought into the spotlight South Africa's high crime rate as well as the increasing levels of gun ownership - Pistorius having shot Reeva with his own 9mm Pistol.

The trial itself hinged on the intentions of Pistorius and as such a replica door and toilet were set up in the court in order to ascertain the exact circumstances. The court heard from a number of conflicting witness statements concerning whether they had heard Steenkamp scream and then bullets being fired or whether it was the other way around. Pistorius throughout the trial maintained that he was acting in self-defence against a perceived intruder - an argument which, if the court agreed, would mean he was not-guilty of murder. 

As the trial continued Pistorius' was at times visibly upset and was once moved to the point of vomiting when photographs of Steenkamp's disfigured face were accidently shown to the court. Pistorius and Steenkamp's relationship was put under intense scrutiny during the trial with Pistorius being described as 'jealous' and 'possessive' at times. Other instances of Pistorius' gun use came to light as the court heard of two occasions where Pistorius had discharged his weapon 'in anger'. 

The Pistorius case also brought international appraisal of the South African judicial system. When he was found guilty of culpable homicide - a rough equivalent of the UK's manslaughter charge - many wondered if he would receive the same sentence as other less well-known criminals. The case also became a question of race with one man claiming "It's because he has money. If it was a black man he would get 15 or 20 years,".

Pistorius was eventually sentenced to five years imprisonment as the judge deemed he had committed the "the unlawful negligent killing of a human being". The state prosecutors almost immediately declared they would be appealing the sentence - aiming for a longer jail term. On 21 October 2014 Pistorius was moved to Kgosi Mampuru II Prison in Pretoria to start his sentence.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at the Garsfontein Police Station in Pretoria to perform his first shift of community service on 14 November after being released under house arrest.