Amber Guyger, a white police officer from Dallas, made national news last year for shooting an unarmed black man.
The thirty-three-year-old cop fatally shot her neighbor, Botham Jean. Guyger's defense was that she believed he was an intruder. The thing was, Mr. Jean didn't even enter Guyger's apartment... she entered his. Amber tried to get away with the murder by claiming she had mistakingly entered the wrong apartment, thinking that she was in fact in her home.
The court found holes in her defense and she was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder.
Her sentencing was a moving event, with members of Botham's family openly crying throughout. However, his brother seemed willing to forgive Guyger and actually embraced her after her sentencing in an emotional hug.
Keep scrolling to read the full story...
Amber Guyger has been found guilty of murder.
via: NBC
Last year, the former Dallas police officer, fatally shot her black neighbor - twenty-six-year-old accountant, Botham Jean, on Sept. 6, 2018, just before 10 p.m.She claimed she thought he was an "intruder" despite shooting him in his own apartment...
via: Harding University
According to Guyger, she "mistakingly" entered Jean's apartment, which was located directly above hers, and, upon thinking he was an "intruder" shot him twice in the chest. The two did not know one another. During the trial, the defense brought on other tenants from the same apartment complex who testified that they also had parked on a different floor and gone to the wrong unit by mistake.Jean's funeral took place on September 13, 2018.
via: Getty
His friends and family attended the Greenville Avenue Church of Christ to lay him to rest.Following the shooting, Guyger was rightfully fired from the police force.
via: WKYT
Toxicology results presented at trial showed she was not intoxicated during the shooting, with the prosecution arguing that Guyger was at fault for missing "several clues" that she was on the wrong floor and subsequently went to the wrong apartment, including a red doormat that Jean's apartment had and hers did not.The fatal shooting led to one of the most publicized murder trials in Dallas for decades.
via: Reuters
And it also shed light on issues of police use of force and racial bias, including the fact that is was one in a string of shootings of unarmed black men by white police officers. According to NBC news: "Prosecutors said Jean was watching television and eating ice cream in his living room when Guyger burst inside, likely scaring him. The trajectory of the bullet showed that he was either getting up from his couch or cowering when Guyger fired her service weapon, they added."Minimal life-saving aid was given to Jean after he was shot.
via: Facebook
The former police officer admitted to giving the twenty-six-year-old "minimal life-saving aid, as she "only had one hand free" while she called emergency services, adding that her state of mind was "frantic."The Jean family have insisted Guyger would have opened fire if he hadn't have been black.
via: Getty
As per NBC: "Testifying in her own defense last week, Guyger told jurors that she was scared for her life when she entered an apartment that she thought was hers, and the man inside began coming toward her and yelling, "Hey! Hey! Hey!"She claimed the shooting had nothing to do with race.
via: NBC
"I never wanted to take an innocent person's life. I'm so sorry," Guyger said on the stand. "This is not about hate — it's about being scared."She was hoping for a manslaughter charge.
via: NBC
...Which would have carried a lesser sentence of around 2 to twenty years behind bars.But she has ultimately been found guilty of murder.
via: NBC
She now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.The unearthed deleted text messages...
via: Twitter
Since Amber was found guilty, text message exchanges have been unearthed that reveal just how racist the officer was. These first messages are from when Guyger had to work the MLK Day Parade in 2018. Her friend asks when it will be over... To which Guyger replies: "When MLK is dead... oh wait."The MLK parade is an important day for a lot of people.
Get ready for the 2019 Dallas MLK Parade on Monday, January 21st in South Dallas! The parade begins at 10AM at the… https://t.co/np3jXj8OHx— Dallas MLK Center (@Dallas MLK Center)1547678851.0
Yeah, police brutality sure is funny...
"When does this end lol," reads a text to Guyger. "When MLK is dead… oh wait…” she responds. “Just push them… or… https://t.co/SqkIDOhim4— Rebecca Kavanagh (@Rebecca Kavanagh)1569990056.0
In this exchange, Guyger point-blank called herself a racist.
via: Twitter
Continuing the text interaction with her friend whilst working the parade, her friend mentions Guyger adopting her dog. The owner warns that her dog might be racist (?) - I guess, suggesting that she is racist... To which the "accidental" murderer responds: "It’s okay... I’m the same."Sack Rivera.
We learned today that Amber Guyger and her partner exchanged text before, during and after #BothamJeans murder. Tho… https://t.co/Codhrj3n6x— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@S. Lee Merritt, Esq.)1569280361.0
The Dallas cop certainly did not come off well in the exchange.
via: Facebook
As you can see below, Guyger's hatred for black people seemed to be a shared feeling amongst her and her lover, Martin Rivera. Many Dallas civilians do not feel safe knowing that this racist cop is still out patrolling the streets - and, frankly, I don't blame them. "When will it end...""Damn I was at this area with 5 different black officers."
via: Twitter
Updating her boyfriend on how many black officers she was working with certainly doesn't sound racist... ugh.You know when you start a sentence with: "I'm not racist but..."
You can bet your bottom dollar that the next words that are going to come out of your mouth will be racist.We need these racist officers off the streets.
So Amber Guyger’s witness when she shot a poor Hispanic man because supposedly reached for her taser, was Martin Ri… https://t.co/DON5Z0mymw— DeirdreIV (@DeirdreIV)1569435143.0
And now, she has finally been sentenced...
She was facing between 5 to ninety-nine years in prison...
via: Getty
However, Judge Tammy Kemp allowed the jury to consider the “sudden passion" defense, which carries a reduced sentence of 2 to 20 years. This meant jurors were able to consider whether Guyger killed Jean in an act of “sudden passion" caused by unforeseen anger or terror “sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool reflection."This is not justice.
At the sentencing, she described the impact that losing her son has had on her life.
via: Getty
"My life has not been the same," his mother, Allison Jean, told the jurors. "It's just been like a roller coaster. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat."His dad, Bertrum Jean, broke down in tears several times throughout the sentencing.
via: Getty
"My son Botham was dear to me," he told the jurors in tears. "How could this happen to our family? How could we have lost Botham?"But his brother has been willing to forgive.
Wow I've never seen this before at a sentencing hearing: Botham Jean's brother asked the judge if he can hug Ambe… https://t.co/av8MKWL6pt— Bobby Allyn (@Bobby Allyn)1570052266.0