Pistorius Granted Bail Pending Murder Trial

05:15

February 22, 2013

The Associated Press

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is pictured in court on Friday Feb. 22, 2013, in Pretoria, South Africa, for his bail hearing. (AP)

Double-amputee track star Oscar Pistorius will be allowed to go free as he awaits trial in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend.

A magistrate in South Africa granted bail today after four days of arguments from prosecutors and defense lawyers.

He said the affidavit from Pistorius, in which he gave his version of the events that took place in his home, had helped his application for bail.

Pistorius shot and killed model Reeva Steenkamp in the predawn hours of February 14th. The athlete says he shot her accidentally, thinking she was an intruder in his house. Prosecutors say the shooting followed a loud argument between the two. They say he intended to kill her, and they've charged him with premeditated murder.

Pistorius last year became the first double-amputee runner to compete in the Olympics. He is known as the Blade Runner because of the high-tech artificial legs he uses.

Guest:

Lydia Polgreen, Johannesburg Bureau Chief for The New York Times. She tweets @lpolgreen.

This segment aired on February 22, 2013.