Oscar Pistorius parole review hearing postponed 2 weeks

A second hearing to decide whether former Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius should be released early from prison has been postponed for two weeks, South Africa's Department of Correctional Services said today.

The department's parole review board met on Friday to consider a number of cases, but didn't complete them, it said in a statement.

Pistorius's case was one of those which still must be reviewed.

• Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison for girlfriend's death

The double amputee, known at the Blade Runner for the special blade prostheses he wears to run, was initially approved to be released and moved to house arrest last month. However, South Africa's justice minister intervened and ordered a review, saying a parole board's decision at a hearing back in June was premature.

Pistorius, 28, was sentenced to five years in prison last October after being convicted of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, for shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. Under South African law, he was eligible for release after serving one-sixth of his sentence in jail, in his case, 10 months.

But two days before his expected Aug. 21 release, Justice Minister Michael Masutha ordered a review of Pistorius's case on a technicality, saying his release was approved in June and before he had served 10 months.

Pistorius is being held in the hospital wing at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in central Pretoria. If he is released, he would likely serve the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest at his uncle's mansion in suburban Pretoria.

Even if he is released early from jail, the former star athlete's court battles are not over. Prosecutors are appealing his acquittal for murder at the Supreme Court in November, where he will again face the possibility of a murder conviction and a 15-year jail sentence for shooting Steenkamp multiple times through a toilet door in his home.