Serving time: Pistorius was sentenced to five years for culpable homicide 
 
 Disgraced sprinter Oscar Pistorius will be freed from prison in August, it has been reported. 
 
 The athlete was sentenced to five years in jail last year for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home in South Africa on Valentine's Day 2013. 
 
 The Paralympian claimed the killing was a tragic mishap after he mistook her for an intruder. 
 
 But the double amputee was found guilty of culpable homicide by a judge. 
 
 He is eligible for release from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest in August. 
 
 And a family member has confirmed they expect Pistorius to leave jail in a matter of weeks. 
 
 According to ENCA News, Pistorius was seen by a parole board last week and a date has been set for August 21. 
 
 The family of Reeva Steenkamp reacted with dismay, saying Pistorius' ten months in prison is "simply not enough" of a punishment for his crime. 
 
 In a statement they said: "We have forgiven Mr Pistorius even though he took the life of our precious daughter Reeva. 
 
 "Our lives will never be the same again as live with the sadness of her death every day. 
 
 "Reeva had so much to offer this world and we were all robbed of her life when she was killed. 
 
 "As her family, we do not seek to avenge her death and we do not want Mr Pistorius to suffer; that will not bring her back to us. 
 
 "However a person found guilty of a crime must be held accountable for their actions. 
 
 "Statistics show that our society is under continuous attack form criminals and murderers. 
 
 "Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough. 
 
 "We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should." 
 
 But in a separate development, South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal set a date for prosecutors to appeal the runner's conviction for manslaughter. 
 
 Getty Tragic: Reeva Steenkamp died after being shot through a toilet door 
 
 The state believes Pistorius should have been convicted of murder and they will challenge the ruling in November. 
 
 If successful, the Blade Runner could be locked up for life. 
 
 Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Paul Myburgh said that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and defence lawyer Barry Roux have met with the president of the court. 
 
 The Pistorius legal team claim the 28-year-old is so desperate to get his life back on track he wants to work with disadvantaged youngsters when released. 
 
 A source said: “He is managing in jail, he’s isolated but hanging in and praying to keep up his strength. 
 
 “He is keen to become involved in assisting children in whatever opportunity comes up. His legal team are trying to help with this and sort a job.” 
 
 Pistorius has been held in a single cell at the notorious Kgosi Mumpuru prison, in Pretoria, over fears he will face attacks from violent inmates. 
 
 After a six-month trial last year the Paralympian - known as the Blade Runner - was found not guilty of murder but guilty of culpable homicide. 
 
 He was handed a five-year jail term but will serve just a sixth of that under South African laws. 
 
 His solicitor, Barry Roux, who represented him throughout his legal fight, said: “[Oscar] walks free in August and then has ten months on parole. 
 
 “The parole conditions will be at their discretion, don’t drink, go to church, no drugs, he’ll have a psychological programme, an anger management course. 
 
 “They will set the parameters and he will keep to them.” He added: “He will leave prison in three months time and wherever he goes he will be Oscar Pistorius. 
 
 Reuters 
 
 “There is no way a man as famous as him can change his name. 
 
 “Anyway, How can you change your name, it’s running away. Why would you want to change your name, it’s disowning what happened. He will have to lift his head, and take it on the chin." 
 
 Earlier this year images emerged of Pistorius playing football with Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir in a concrete courtyard. 
 
 The two-minute clip, which shows Pistorius practising penalty shoot-outs with the notorious underworld figure on trial for kidnapping, sparked condemnation from South African prison authorities. 
 
 But Mr Roux defended the footage, claiming it was a misrepresentation of how Pistorius was being treated in prison. 
 
 VIEW GALLERY 
 
 He said: Mr Roux said: “Oscar is in a single cell, we had to make the choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. 
 
 “Do you put him in a cell with inmates, with all the horrible associated risks of attacks and tormenting, or in a single cell with the loneliness and isolation? 
 
 “At least this way he is protected. His cell is three metres by two metres. Life is lonely. 
 
 “He spends 18 hours-a-day in isolation seven days a week. He has one hour a day for physical exercise. 
 
 “People completely misunderstood when they saw a photo of him playing soccer with the notorious Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir. 
 
 “The man is also in the hospital section and he had his hour of exercise at the same time one day, so they kicked a ball around for a few minutes. 
 
 “That’s all it was, its not like Oscar has a life of leisure and football.” 
 
 Reuters 
 
 Mr Roux also revealed Pistorius had rejected a string of Hollywood film offers and book deals - despite being broke. 
 
 He said: “All Oscar has to his name is the shirt on his back and his underpants. 
 
 “Oscar has spent all his money. I was not paid for the last two months, but I just could not ‘walk away’, I couldn’t morally do that. 
 
 “Oscar was left with nothing, he is totally and utterly penniless, I mean zero. The shirt on his back and his underpants. That’s all he has. 
 
 “The case has cost him at least two million Rand. He sold his brand new Audi, all his art, his watches, even his guns I believe. 
 
 “He has never discussed the book or movie offers but they have poured in. He has in fact declined the book offers and Hollywood options every time, and he has been right to decline.” ||||| 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 is "so desperate to get his life back on track" that he already has a plan to work with disadvantaged youth when he gets out of prison, the Daily Mirror reports. Which could be soon: The South African commissioner of correctional services says the Paralympian will likely be freed on probation Aug. 21 from the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, the BBC notes. Pistorius' release, recommended by a prison committee for good behavior, would come 10 months into his five-year sentence if the parole board approves, the AP reports; the BBC adds that under South African law, he's eligible for probation after serving one-sixth of his sentence (which would be 10 months) and would be kept under "correctional supervision," or house arrest, during his probation period. Reeva Steenkamp's family isn't pleased with the news. "As her family, we do not seek to avenge her death and we do not want Mr. Pistorius to suffer; that will not bring her back to us," they said in a statement, per the Mirror. "However, a person found guilty of a crime must be held accountable for their actions. … Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough. We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should." His freedom may be short-lived, however: In November, prosecutors will appeal his murder acquittal in court, which could net Pistorius a minimum of 15 years if convicted, the Washington Post reports. (Wonder how his book is coming along.)