It’s a Merry Christmas! Murder convict, Pistorious, will be home for Christmas

Although South African Olympian, Oscar Pistorius, has been convicted for murder, he’s going to spend Christmas at home.

He appeared in court, Tuesday morning, to apply for bail after his manslaughter conviction was changed to murder last week.

Currently under house arrest after spending one year of his original five-year sentence in jail, he was released on a $700 bail.

He is due to return to court on 18 April 2016 and faces a minimum 15-year jail sentence.

Pistorius shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, dead in February 2013.

Following a 6-month trial, he was found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaugher) in September 2014 and jailed for five years.

Just last week, an appeal court changed the verdict to murder.

Going by this latest ruling, he will be under house arrest, and electronically tagged. However, he will be allowed to leave the house but only between 7am and midday and not outside a 20km radius. He also has to hand over his passport.

His lawyer said the Paralympian would appeal against the murder conviction in the Constitutional Court.

Pistorius is a six-time Paralympic gold medalist whose legs were amputated below the knee as a baby. He made history by becoming the first amputee sprinter to compete at the Olympics, in 2012, running on prosthetic “blades”..