Oscar Pistorious was today morning found guilty of culpable murder. Paralympic enthusiasts across the world woke up to the shocking news of Pistorious' guilty conviction of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in English law.

Pistorious, who was yesterday cleared of two counts of murder: premeditated murder and dolus eventualis, stood stunned as the verdict was read out before a full courtroom. The courtroom fell into a somber mood with shallow breathes of dismay and the sniffles of women crying from the Steenkamp side renting the courtroom.

The trial judge, lady justice Thokozile Masipa, who had yesterday acquitted Pistorious of two counts of murder, found that although Pistorious had not intended to murder his girlfriend, he had acted with excessive force and that he had acted beyond how a reasonable person would have acted. He termed his actions as "negligent."

Culpable homicide is defined in the South African legal spheres as the killing of a person without intent, either through acting in negligence or through recklessness. Pistorious did admit that firing the four shots through the door did indeed kill his girlfriend on Valentines Day last year but he also added that he mistook her for an intruder. The prosecution had alleged that Pistorious knew it was his girlfriend outside the door and that he had fired the shots with a clear intent to kill her.

Having been found guilty of culpable homicide, the 27 year old Pistorious risks a maximum of 15 years in prison. The charge, however, has no minimum sentence. This could mean that Pistorious could indeed be granted a light sentence. The sentencing is as per the discretion of the judge.

Sentencing will be done after a mitigation hearing where the prosecution and defense will submit their arguments before the court for mitigating circumstances.

Pistorious was allowed bail despite heavy objection from the prosecution on grounds of likelihood to abscond hearing following a guilty verdict and a possible suicide risk. He will return to court on the date of the mitigation hearing, set at October 13.