PRETORIA In one of the wealthiest suburbs of South Africa's capital Pretoria stands a three-storey mansion where Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius will be taken on his release from prison this week. 
 
 Pistorius, 29, is expected to wear an electronic tracking tag when he is released on Friday after serving 10 months of a five-year sentence for killing his model and law graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013. 
 
 The release of Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was a baby, is in line with South African sentencing guidelines that say non-dangerous prisoners should spend only one-sixth of a custodial sentence behind bars. 
 
 Pistorius is due to serve the rest of his term in "custodial supervision", a form of house arrest. 
 
 He will be mostly confined to the home of his uncle, Arnold, a high-walled manor in the leafy suburb of Waterkloof that features more than a dozen bedrooms, a private gym, outdoor swimming pool and landscaped gardens. 
 
 The athlete, nicknamed 'Blade Runner' because of the carbon-fiber prosthetics he used during his stellar career on the track, will likely be allowed to leave the house to work, carry out community service or to attend important family events. 
 
 In a country with one of the world's highest rates of violent crime and where many still live in poverty, there is limited sympathy for Pistorius. 
 
 "It's more like mansion arrest," said Christopher, 31, a security guard who works on Arnold's road but lives in a basic two room flat in a rundown suburb of Johannesburg. 
 
 Steenkamp's parents did not respond to requests for comment. They said at the time of Pistorius' sentencing that spending 10 months in prison "for taking a life is simply not enough" and it would send out the wrong message to society. 
 
 Experts who deal with former prisoners say the public is often unaware of how tough life can be. 
 
 APPEAL FOR MURDER 
 
 "Many people don't understand the very serious impact prison can have on your life and the challenges afterwards, no matter where you live," said Jacques Sibomana, spokesman for NICRO, an organization helping to re-integrate offenders. 
 
 "The social stigma Oscar will face could be very psychologically traumatic. The punishment lives with you." 
 
 Pistorius' time in Waterkloof could be short-lived if state prosecutors succeed in overturning the verdict. Details of their case were due to be submitted to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Monday. 
 
 Pistorius has admitted killing Steenkamp, 29, by firing four shots into the locked door of a toilet cubicle in what he said was the mistaken belief that an intruder was hiding behind it. 
 
 Judge Thokozile Masipa said during sentencing that the state had failed to convince her of Pistorius' intent to kill when he fired. 
 
 Prosecutors want the verdict of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, raised to murder because they argue Pistorius must have known when he fired that the person behind the door could be killed. Many legal experts agree. 
 
 "Given he fired four shots through a door when he knew someone was inside, I think there is a good chance the appeal will be successful," William Booth, a lawyer who has followed the trial closely, told Reuters. 
 
 If convicted of murder, Pistorius will likely be given a custodial sentence of at least 15 years. The appeal hearing is due to start in November. 
 
 Pistorius was once considered one of the ultimate symbols of triumph over adversity, fighting authorities to become the first amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Olympics. 
 
 Though he could return to training, Pistorius is unlikely to ever compete at the highest level again given his age and lack of intensive training since Steenkamp's death, experts say. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Lynette Ndabambi; Editing by Giles Elgood) ||||| Oscar Pistorius, left, arrives inside the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. A South African judge is expected to announce Pistorius' sentence for murdering girlfriend Reeva... (Associated Press) 
 
 PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, with the judge who decided the punishment calling the double-amputee Olympian a "fallen hero." 
 
 South Africa's minimum sentence for murder is 15 years but the judge said "substantial and compelling circumstances" existed to give Pistorius a lesser sentence for shooting Steenkamp at his home in 2013. 
 
 Judge Thokozile Masipa described Pistorius as a "good candidate for rehabilitation." 
 
 Pistorius was asked to stand and face Judge Masipa as she announced his sentence in a courtroom in the South African capital, Pretoria. He was calm after the sentence was announced, embracing his aunt and tearful sister before being led down a courtroom staircase to a holding cell. 
 
 Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, were also present in the courtroom, which was packed with relatives of both Pistorius and Steenkamp, journalists and other observers. 
 
 After announcing Pistorius' sentence, the judge ordered a recess to give prosecutors and Pistorius' defense lawyers time to decide they want to appeal the sentence. It was not immediately clear if either would. 
 
 Prosecutors had sought at least 15 years in prison for the 29-year-old Pistorius. His defense lawyers had asked for no jail time at all for the athlete, and asked that he be allowed to do charity work with children. 
 
 The sentencing is the latest act of a three-and-a-half year legal drama that has often played out on live television and shown the fall from grace of a runner once viewed as an inspiration to many for overcoming his disability. Pistorius had both legs amputated below the knees when he was 11 months old because of a congenital defect. 
 
 He made history by running at the 2012 Olympics on his carbon-fiber running blades, and was one of the world's most recognizable athletes. 
 
 Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and reality TV star, in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine's Day in 2013 by shooting her multiple times through a toilet cubicle door in his home. Pistorius maintained he killed Steenkamp by mistake thinking she was an intruder hiding in the bathroom. 
 
 Prosecutors charged that he killed her intentionally after the couple argued. 
 
 In 2014, Pistorius was acquitted of murder by Masipa following a dramatic seven-month trial. He was instead convicted of manslaughter and served one year in prison. 
 
 His conviction was upgraded to murder last year when prosecutors appealed to South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Imray reported from Somerset West, South Africa. ||||| PRETORIA (Reuters) - Oscar Pistorius shuffled through a Pretoria court without his prosthetic legs on Wednesday to show how vulnerable he is as the Paralympian seeks to avoid prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. 
 
 Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius walks across the courtroom without his prosthetic legs during the third day of the resentencing hearing for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, at Pretoria High Court, South Africa June 15, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko 
 
 The 29-year-old faces a minimum 15-year jail term for the Valentine’s Day killing in 2013 in a case that has attracted worldwide interest and divided South Africa. He will be sentenced on July 6. 
 
 Pistorius has always said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four shots through a locked toilet door in his Pretoria home, killing her almost instantly. 
 
 During his closing arguments, defense lawyer Barry Roux asked the gold medalist, known as the “Blade Runner” for his carbon-fibre prosthetics, to walk on his stumps to show the difficulty he faced dealing with the threat of an intruder. 
 
 The lower part of his legs were amputated when he was a baby. 
 
 His body shaking with emotion, Pistorius removed his prosthetics and stood on his stumps for about five minutes in front of the court television camera, wiping away tears with a tissue. 
 
 “The accused was vulnerable because of his disability,” Roux said. “His failure to conduct a rational thought process does not negate his vulnerability.” 
 
 The defense says Pistorius did not deliberately kill model and law graduate Steenkamp and was “a broken man”, calling for a non-custodial sentence that includes community service. 
 
 A state prosecutor argued that Pistorius - who did not take the stand himself - had shown no remorse or told the court why he fired the shots, and asked the court jail the athlete for the prescribed minimum sentence of 15-years. 
 
 The athlete originally received a five-year sentence for a manslaughter conviction, that was upgraded to murder on appeal. The original trial judge, Thokozile Masipa, was presiding at the hearings at the Pretoria High Court. 
 
 FIERCE DEBATE 
 
 Roux asked the judge to consider that his client was vulnerable because of his disability and that the prescribed 15-year minimum sentence should give the court “unease”. 
 
 “The fact is that a disabled person in jail has a more difficult time,” Roux said. 
 
 The case has prompted a fierce debate in a country beset by high levels of violent crime against women and still dealing with the legacy of decades of apartheid race-based rule. 
 
 Some rights groups have said Pistorius, a wealthy white man, has received preferential treatment. 
 
 Pistorius reached the pinnacle of his fame in London 2012 when he became the first double amputee to run in the Olympics, reaching the 400 meters semi-finals, before taking two golds in the Paralympics. 
 
 Roux said the publicity surrounding the case led to it being portrayed as an incident of gender-based violence, despite the facts showing it was not. Pistorius had now “become the face of gender violence”, he said. 
 
 Shortly after Roux asked Pistorius to walk without his prosthetics, prosecutor Gerrie Nel requested that the judge allow photos to be shown of Steenkamp’s bloodied head and torso. 
 
 Masipa ruled that the photos be made available to the public upon request. She said the photos had been banned to protect the Steenkamp family, who had now agreed to lifting the ban. 
 
 The victim’s father Barry Steenkamp said on Tuesday that Pistorius must pay for his crime. 
 
 Prosecutor Nel said Pistorius had failed to show remorse. 
 
 “There’s a chasm between regret and remorse,” Nel said. “Real remorse would have been the accused taking the court into his confidence, telling the court why I fired that shot, why I did what I did. We don’t have that.” 
 
 Slideshow (9 Images) 
 
 Johannesburg-based criminal law attorney Zola Majavu said the judge could only deviate from handing out the minimum sentence if Pistorius had demonstrated exceptional circumstances to warrant such a deviation. 
 
 He said Pistorius’ decision not to speak in court could prove central: “It was a perfect opportunity to show the court that he does take responsibility for his actions.” 
 
 Pistorius has given an interview to British television, which will be aired next week.
– After serving 10 months of a five-year sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius is about to start doing time in his uncle Arnold's house, which Reuters reports has "more than a dozen bedrooms, a private gym, outdoor swimming pool, and landscaped garden." Prisons are overcrowded in South Africa, and prisoners are routinely released a sixth of the way into their sentences. Pistorius will have to wear an electronic tag as he serves the rest of his time on "corrective supervision" in the luxury home. "It's more like mansion arrest," a security guard on the uncle's street in a Pretoria suburb tells Reuters. Pistorius is expected to leave prison Friday and will be able to leave his uncle's house to work. He apparently plans to work with disadvantaged children and is unlikely to run competitively anytime soon: CNN reports that the International Paralympic Committee has banned him from competing until after his full sentence expires, meaning the next Olympics he can take part in will be in 2020, when he will be 33 years old. His future may also hold more time in prison. Prosecutors filed papers yesterday to have Pistorius' culpable homicide conviction in Steenkamp's death converted to a murder conviction, which carries a minimum 15-year sentence, reports the BBC.