Pistorius to keep his prosthetics if sent to prison

Oscar Pistorius' prosthetics will not be taken away from him should he be sent to jail, according to correctional services.

spokesman Koos Gerber said this when queried about Pistorius, a double-amputee who is facing murder charges following the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Prisoners with disabilities are treated with dignity and enjoy the same rights as able-bodied inmates, the Correctional Services department said.

“No prisoner’s human rights are taken away from them. They are treated with the dignity they deserve,” said spokesman Koos Gerber.

“The department [of correctional services] is a responsible organisation and takes care of inmates in an appropriate manner,” said Gerber.

Disabled people were therefore treated like everyone else.

“We only assist in providing for the special needs that a specific disability requires,” said Gerber.

“A blind person will, for instance, be incarcerated with people with sight so that they can assist him and so on... they certainly are not locked up separately as a group.”