The recent announcement of the imminent, and subsequently suspended, release on correctional supervision of Oscar Pistorius has attracted significant media attention. For many his possible release is confusing as he was sentenced to a maximum of five years imprisonment for culpable homicide and in addition a concurrent three-year prison term, suspended for five years, for the separate offence of reckless endangerment for firing a firearm in a restaurant. However, after serving only ten months, he was about to be released. The answer to this apparent confusion lies in the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act (i.e. s 276(1)(i)) when read together with a provision in the Correctional Services Act (i.e. s73(7)(a). This CSPRI Fact Sheet explains how this particular sentence works
