Oscar Pistorius granted bail: Magistrate rules ‘Blade Runner’ not a flight risk

Olympian track star Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, was granted bail on Friday.

Bit by bit, and point by point, the South African chief magistrate dissected the arguments of those who wanted Mr. Pistorius to stay in jail.

The Friday court proceeding was lengthy — and much more like a trial than a simple bail hearing.

But in the end, Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair said he did not find the Olympian, dubbed the “Blade Runner,” a flight risk or a threat to the public, according to live coverage of the hearing from The Guardian.

The prosecution failed to establish Mr. Pistorius would flee to his Italy home, or flee using one of his many cars — in essence, that he would use any of the many means at his disposal to flee, The Guardian reports.

The decision is not that shocking, considering the case against Mr. Pistorius was compromised with the charging of the lead detective in the case with seven counts of murder for a 2011 incident.

Fox News reports the U.S. legal system rarely grants bail in cases involving murder — but also reports that the murder conviction in South Africa stands at 10 percent..

Mr. Pistorius faces murder charges in the Valentine’s Day shooting death of his celebrity model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.