Oscar Pistorius Update: Brother Explains What Life Is Like Behind Bars

The brother of former Olympian Oscar Pistorius says his brother is getting no special treatment in prison. It's been six weeks since Pistorius began his five-year prison sentence for shooting and killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and must serve at least 10 months.

The Daily Mail said Carl Pistorius told a South African weekly rumors his brother is benefiting from special treatment in prison are false. Carl Pistorius said the double-amputee doesn’t have his own bathroom, but has been given a stool to use in the communal shower. Oscar Pistorius, who recently turned 28, isn’t allowed to come and go as he pleases and is forced to spend 17 hours a day in his cell. He’s allowed to go outside for an hour and given another hour to exercise with other inmates.

The former Olympian is being held in the hospital wing of Kgosi Mampuru prison, and claims to be doing his part to help fellow prisoners. He recently told his brother about a plan to start a basketball program.

“He often gives fellow prisoners in the hospital wing, mostly recovering from tuberculosis, advice on how to exercise and to strengthen their bodies,” Carl Pistorius said.

Oscar Pistorius maintains his innocence, claiming he shot Steenkamp behind a bathroom door, thinking she was an intruder. Still, the double-amputee says he’s been touched by prisoners who have admitted to rightfully being in jail.

“He's encountering many beautiful stories from prisoners,” Carl Pistorius said. “There are people there who have committed crimes but whose lives have changed.”

While Oscar Pistorius was found to be guilty of culpable homicide, Carl Pistorius escaped such a charge, just three month after his brother was arrested for killing Steenkamp. He was involved in an accident in 2008 in which a female motorcyclist died. The prosecution eventually dropped the charge on evidence the deceased was speeding when she crashed into the pickup truck.

“We live in the hope that he'll be out [under house arrest] but it's a five-year sentence,” Carl Pistorius said. “There are surely desires in his heart, and over time they'll change. But he now lives moment by moment. There's no fairytale.”