Oscar Pistorius has an "Oscar room" in a luxury mansion which is ready for him to live in should he be released from jail after serving only half his sentence.
The former Paralympian and convicted murderer is poised to be released from jail after serving just half of his 13-year sentence for killing his then-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day in 2013.
A South African parole board is beginning its consideration today on whether the former Olympian can be released from jail.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, his uncle Arnold Pistorius told Netwerk24, an Afrikaans news website, of the “Oscar room.”
He said the room was waiting for his nephew on his large property in South Africa's capital Pretoria.
The runner’s younger sister, Aimee, is also expected home from London to help him adjust to freedom, he said.
Arnold, Pistorius’ father’s brother, is a prominent businessman who accumulated much of his wealth through developing, letting, and managing commercial properties.
Arnold Pistorius and his wife, Lois, raised Pistorius, his sister and brother, Carl, from their teenage years, after the death of their mother.
His uncle also said the athlete has been offered a job, but declined to say by whom.
The luxury home is in a leafy and wealthy which boasts sweeping terraces, landscaped gardens and a swimming pool.
Pistorius was jailed for shooting Reeva, a 29-year-old model and his girlfriend of two months, through a locked bathroom door in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.
It was later revealed that he had been a gun fanatic who once fired a gun in a restaurant and had 10 weapons, including an AK-47.
Barry and June Steenkamp, the parents of Reeva, have said they oppose Pistorius’ release and are allowed to address the parole board at his hearing.
“He is a murderer. He should remain in jail,” Barry Steenkamp said in an interview with the Daily Mail on the 10th anniversary of his daughter’s killing.
The Department of Corrections declined to give details on Pistorius’ hearing, saying it was “an internal matter” like any other parole hearing.
According to guidelines, the board will consider the offence Pistorius was convicted of, his conduct and disciplinary record while in prison, whether he took part in educational or other training courses, his mental and physical state, whether he’s likely to “relapse into crime” and the risk he poses to the public.
Pistorius’ parole lawyer, Julian Knight, has previously said Pistorius has been a “model prisoner.”
A number of options are available to the parole board: Pistorius could be released on full parole or placed on day parole, where he would be allowed to live and work in the community during the day but have to return to prison at night.
He could also be placed under correctional supervision, which means he would be released but have to spend some of his time during the week at a correctional centre.
Pistorius’ parole could be denied, where the board usually asks the offender to reapply at a later stage.
