--- description: An inmate of convicted killer Oscar Pistorius says the athlete benefited from special treatment during his 10 months in prison. title: Oscar Pistorius Got Special Treatment in Prison, Says Inmate image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce7f733c1d4f0f0a/69885fec3c1639168a459541/oscar-pistorius-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [South Africa](/tag/south-africa/) ## South Africa Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius Got Special Treatment in Prison, Says Inmate by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2015 9:25 AM CUT  Oscar Pistorius listens to his judgement in the Pretoria High Court on Oct. 21, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa. Oscar Pistorius listens to his judgement in the Pretoria High Court on Oct. 21, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa.Herman Verwey—Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images by [NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 19, 2015 9:25 AM CUT JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Convicted killer Oscar Pistorius spent his 10 months in one of the world’s most notorious prisons living in virtual isolation and benefiting from special treatment, according to a fellow inmate. The double-amputee Olympic athlete is expected to be released Friday to spend the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest. Nicknamed the “Blade Runner,” Pistorius was reportedly so worried he would be poisoned while in prison that he lived on canned sardines and baked beans. “Pistorius, he was a VIP prisoner,” Boswell Mhlongo, a fellow inmate at the maximum-security Kgosi Mapuru II in Pretoria … [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News._](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/pistorius-trial/blad-runner-oscar-pistorius-got-special-treatment-prison-inmate-n412191?cid=par-time-article%5F20150819 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4002800/oscar-pistorius-special-treatment-prison/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4002800/oscar-pistorius-special-treatment-prison/"},"headline":"'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius Got Special Treatment in Prison, Says Inmate","datePublished":"2015-08-19T09:25:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:16:34.156Z","description":"Pistorius will spend the remainder of his five-year sentence under house arrest","url":"https://time.com/4002800/oscar-pistorius-special-treatment-prison/","keywords":["South Africa"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce7f733c1d4f0f0a/69885fec3c1639168a459541/oscar-pistorius-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce7f733c1d4f0f0a/69885fec3c1639168a459541/oscar-pistorius-prison.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oscar Pistorius listens to his judgement in the Pretoria High Court on October 21, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa.","caption":"Oscar Pistorius listens to his judgement in the Pretoria High Court on October 21, 2014, in Pretoria, South Africa.","creditText":"Herman Verwey—Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-africa/","name":"South Africa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4002800/oscar-pistorius-special-treatment-prison/","name":"'Blade Runner' Oscar Pistorius Got Special Treatment in Prison, Says Inmate"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Oscar Pistorius Went From Track Star To Accused Murderer","description":"Paralympian Oscar Pistorius went from role model track star to accused murderer in the matter of a day. 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