Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail ahead of what could still be a stiff jail term for killing his lover.
Prisoners in South African jails are only able to exercise for one hour a day and prison food is simple but inmates can sometimes buy extra items from the tuck shop. Picture AFP Source: AFP
Oscar Pistorius’s ordeal in the courtroom is nothing compared to what the Blade Runner might receive behind bars, if a judge sends him there.
Culpable homicide in South Africa carries no minimum term. Pistorius could simply be fined.
But if handed a jail term, experts say the double-amputee Olympian would likely be afforded special treatment due to his high profile.
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In 2012-13, there were more than 6,000 complaints of assault against inmates and more than 3,000 against officials in South African prisons, according to The Times.
Assaults continue to rise sharply in South African jails and associate Professor Geoffrey Hawker from Macquarie University said Pistorius would almost certainly be bashed and raped if accommodated with the mainstream prisoner population.
A prison guard looks over the gallows at Pretoria's maximum security prison. The new Constitutional Court has abolished capital punishment and the government plans to dismantle the gallows, making room to house more prisoners with life sentences AP Photo/John Moore Source: AP
“They’ll probably do something to protect him. If they just chuck him in he’ll be in fear of his life,” he said.
“I do actually (think he’ll get special treatment) because the consequences if he got badly damaged or killed.
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“They’ll find something where he is separated from the most violent offenders.”
If jailed, Pistorius would likely be sent to the 107-year-old Kgosi Mumpuru II Management Centre because it is the closest to his family.
Prof Hawker said that while authorities would be under pressure not to give him special treatment, Pistorius may be able to bribe prison officials.
“It’s not a society free of corruption,” he said.
A general view of the Pretoria Central Prison where Oscar Pistorius will be sent if found guilty in Pretoria, South Africa. Source: Supplied
“As a more affluent person he would get a better standard of treatment than your destitute drug addled person.
“He could be in with quite a lot of other guys and that’s where he may be able to buy something a bit better for himself.”
Prisoners in South African jails are only able to exercise for one hour a day and prison food is simple but inmates can sometimes buy extra items from the tuck shop.
Other privileges vary depending on prisoner’s behaviour.
Oscar Pistorius faces a tough time in jail if he is imprisoned for the death of Reeva Steenkamp. Picture: AP/Phill Magakoe Source: AAP
As a disabled prisoner, Pistorius would likely be able to keep his prosthetic legs most of the time but may have to hand them in to prison staff at night as they might be deemed a security risk.
“Because against all appearances South Africa have relatively stronger laws in relation to equal treatment of people with disabilities
“He has a constitutional right to have his disability attended to and not to suffer for it
“He can point to a constitutional provision that we wouldn’t be able to do in Australia. There’s much more specific protection for disability and group rights in the South African consultation.
If sentenced to jail, Pisotrius would be given a reporting date where he would meet with the prison committee and be issued with his orange corrections uniform.
Professor Samuel Makinda from Murdoch University said Pistorius would receive a “rich person’s justice”.
“To people in South Africa this has shown one thing — when you’re rich and you kill justice is different because most cases of murder in South Africa would have been finished over one or two days of hearing and you don’t have so many witnesses and someone would go in for life but when you are rich it’s different,” he said.
“To people who live in South Africa the kinds of things Pistorius claimed could be right, that he is always afraid of being attacked. People would sympathise with that because they’d think well we’ve been attacked so many times but they also know not many murderers would get the kind of treatment Oscar Pistorius has received. “