NBC: Guilty verdict in the case of Dallas cop Amber Guyger who shot and killed her neighbor

[Dennis Donovan]

Link to tweet

Geoff Bennett ✔ @GeoffRBennett

NBC: Guilty verdict in the case of Dallas cop Amber Guyger who shot and killed her neighbor, Botham Jean

11:45 AM - Oct 1, 2019

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amber-guyger-found-guilty-murder-trial-fatal-shooting-neighbor-botham-n1060506?cid=ed_npd_bn_tw_bn

Amber Guyger found guilty of murder at trial in fatal shooting of neighbor Botham Jean
Guyger was off-duty but in uniform when she shot Jean last year in a case that has become a flash point in Dallas over issues of police use of force and racial bias.

Oct. 1, 2019, 11:46 AM EDT
By Erik Ortiz
Amber Guyger was found guilty of murder on Tuesday for fatally shooting her neighbor, Botham Jean, after thinking he was an intruder when she mistakenly entered his apartment.

She faces a maximum of life in prison.

The jury was tasked with deciding whether or not Guyger, 31, acted reasonably when she used deadly force, and if the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that she intentionally killed Jean or if a lesser charge of manslaughter, which involves reckless conduct, was warranted.
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[MineralMan]

1. On what charge?

[tblue37]

19. Murder. nt

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Where you seeing this?

Hope so, but I don't see it yet.

[Gothmog]

3. Murder

[MineralMan]

4. Thanks.

[dalton99a]

5. Amber Guyger convicted of murder for killing Botham Jean

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/10/01/amber-guyger-convicted-of-murder-for-killing-botham-jean/

[H2O Man]

6. Recommended.

Good. She is clearly guilty as sin.

[cilla4progress]

7. Thank effin' gawd

a crumb of justice.

[malaise]

8. Oh Happy Day

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[temporary311]

9. Have to admit I'm a little shocked.

After that *wink wink nudge nudge find her innocent* Castle Doctrine nonsense from the judge, I expected the worst.

[a kennedy]

13. OMGAWD....me too....I really think she'd walked

call me shocked.

[dalton99a]

18. +1. Glad the jury didn't buy that castle doctrine bullshit

[brush]

45. Yes, it wasn't her castle, she invaded his castle.

[malaise]

67. Glad the judge raised it

because the jury knew he was in his castle eating ice-cream when he was shot - she faced no threat whatsoever.

[sarisataka]

23. I don't understand why her attorney

Wanted that. As I posted yesterday. in my eyes it weakened her position rather than forming a path to acquittal

[Blue_Tires]

44. there was *no* path to acquittal...

[sarisataka]

46. Obviously

But the job of a defense attorney is to get their client acquitted or at least a conviction of lesser charges. Bringing up castle doctrine did not help that goal IMO.

[fleur-de-lisa]

29. Me too.

[Stargazer09]

41. I felt the same way

I did like that one of the jurors asked what would have happened if Jean had shot her when she barged into his home. Unfortunately, defending your castle might be a limited defense for anyone who isn’t white.

[Dr. Strange]

50. I think the judge was just trying to avoid any chance at appeal.

They'll probably still appeal, but they won't be able to argue that the Castle Doctrine defense was denied to them.

[barbtries]

10. I've been watching this.

didn't expect it, but glad to hear it. I thought they may have overcharged her a la casey anthony. plus it's TX.

[Polly Hennessey]

11. Good.

Hope she gets the maximum. I watched part of the trial, mostly her testimony. She definitely deserves her fate. Botham Jean did not deserve his.

[Johnny2X2X]

16. She looked like she was faking it

No real emotion, simply someone acting like an upset person.

Her lawyer made a mistake putting her on the stand.

[dalton99a]

21. She felt sorry for herself.

[Johnny2X2X]

26. Exactly

"This is affecting me..."

[exboyfil]

30. Had to for an affirmative defense

I don't think they had a tape of her "testifying" like Zimmerman. The Texas Rangers missed that as part of their home cooking. I am actually shocked they didn't.

[cwydro]

12. Surprised, I have to admit.

I still wonder if a male white police officer would have been convicted.

[MineralMan]

34. That occurred to me, as well.

I don't know.

[mr_lebowski]

37. I tend to think given the same facts a female would stand a better chance of acquittal

Even in a male-favored environment, there's still a bit more ... I dunno ... sympathy for the idea that a female would feel threatened by a strange male, whereas males are supposed to be more 'brave' and such, esp. a cop. Talking about the machismo culture of TX. She had a better chance of saying she feared for her life in that scenario and be believed on that point ... than a male cop would. At least that's my guess.

But sexism might've won out as well, hard to know.

[cwydro]

38. Well, I'm glad she was convicted at any rate.

I don’t know what kind of time she faces.

[LeftInTX]

63. I think a woman stands a better chance of aquittal

The make up of the jury was also important in this case.

[Blue_Tires]

47. Hell, if Jean's legal/social media history

was anything other than clean, she would have laughed her way to an easy acquittal, forget about the fake tears...

[cwydro]

49. I'm sure you're absolutely right.

Sadly.

[Doreen]

14. Good, sometimes the law does what it is meant to do.

[sarisataka]

15. That was fast

But not an unexpected outcome.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Amazing.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. Botham Jean should be alive today.

[irisblue]

39. Yes. Guyger stole his life, damaged his family for all time

A tweet from last September

DJ Wade-O (@djwadeo) Tweeted:
Botham Jean leading worship. This is who Amber Guyger killed. https://t.co/NDv2zFoj1p

Link to tweet

[Tipperary]

64. Yes. This story is heartbreaking.

I really hope she gets serious time.

[TexasTowelie]

22. That was a quick decision.

I'm somewhat surprised by the verdict.

[herding cats]

24. Justice for Botham Jean.

I'm surprised to see this, but for once it's surprised in a good way.

[oasis]

58. Not so fast. In the 1997 Louise Woodward "baby shaking death" case

Woodward got life for causing the death of infant, Matthew Epping. On appeal, her charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter. She went home to the UK after 279 days of "time served".

[kcr]

65. Yes, a totally different case from 22 years ago

makes a compelling cautionary reminder to keep our expectations for justice in check. Good call.

[babylonsister]

25. Yay!! nt

[HelpImSurrounded]

27. Good. Our police need to be held to a higher standard

It would be bad enough if a civilian had done this and walked away but for a police officer to claim she mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment means she should never have been a cop in the first place.

[Newest Reality]

33. Really

Of all people, you would expect a police officer to have skill and expertise in the use of their weapon and know when and how to use it. You would think her training and experience would have caused her to show greater restraint and be able to assess her situation.

[book_worm]

28. Let me get this straight? She enters his apartment thinking it was her apartment

see's him in HIS apartment--and immediately draws her gun and shoots him? doesn't take in the environment that it isn't her apartment.

[JuJuYoshida]

35. but....but.....it was dark!

I never bought her story for one second. You KNOW what your place looks like.

[malthaussen]

31. Unexpected, but welcome.

What's the appeal process?

-- Mal

[HipChick]

32. Justice for Bo! Throw the goddam book at her...

[DrToast]

36. I haven't been following this closely

Did the prosecution give a motive? Did she know the guy?

[Cousin Dupree]

40. She thought she was in her own apartment and the.guy on the couch eating ice cream was there

to hurt her. I don’t think she knew him.

[MicaelS]

52. No motive.

She was not paying attention. She was sexting with her DPD partner/lover. Parked on the wrong level in the garage. Went down the wrong hall. Went into the wrong apartment, which she thought was hers. Door was unlocked. She thought it was her own apartment and shot Jean.


Pure negligence from start to finish.

[RhodeIslandOne]

42. I'm glad it was less than 24 hours to reach a verdict

There was no viable defense.

[pintobean]

43. I think juries usually get it right.

I would have accepted whatever verdict they came up with. They're the ones who take an oath, view all the evidence, hear the arguments, weigh the applicable laws, and see all the human traits in a trial.

[sheshe2]

48. Justice.

[Liberal In Texas]

51. Good.

This BS of pulling a gun and shooting first without considering other options needs to stop.

[LiberalLovinLug]

53. I guess I'm the only one that thinks this is rather harsh

She could face up to 99 years, for a few moments of confusion. Yes, someone is dead. And she should pay for her negligence. But to me "murder" should involve some kind of either premeditation, or a crime of passion. Fear for ones own safety is not a motive for murder.

I think its absurd that prosecuters even tried to argue about how she could not notice she was on the wrong floor, or have the wrong door mat. If that was the case, then she DID deliberately, for some bizzare reason, purposely go up one floor, and then coincidently the exact door that mirrors her own was open! All going to plan. So she enters HOPING to find Guyger, or any other innocent person, inside so she could shoot them when they came to answer it.

Or...she just could have thought she was at her own apartment, and being a police officer, and being a bit drunk with probably clouded her judgment, thought she could handle it. And when a shadowing figure, in "her" apartment, rushed at her, she did what she was trained to do.

Which one sounds more plausible?

Did she over-react? Not call back up instead? I guess. But this is in no way "murder". Its manslaughter at most. I'm as sickened by many about police killings. Especially white officers against black citizens. But its wrong to cheer an unfair verdict just to dish out a bit of schadenfreude for other cases that didn't go the right way.

[mountain grammy]

54. Manslaughter is murder.

She murdered the man, period. The circumstances of that murder will be determined at sentencing..

[LiberalLovinLug]

59. Sorry but no, manslaughter is not murder

https://www.dictionary.com/e/manslaughter-murder/

In the universe of legalese, words can perform in unusual ways. Manslaughter, simply defined, is “the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.” American law designates two types of manslaughter, voluntary and involuntary.

Voluntary manslaughter roughly means that the accused intended to hurt or possibly kill the victim, but extenuating circumstances influenced the situation. This classification is used if the accused was provoked by the victim, or if the accused was mentally compromised when committing the crime.

Involuntary manslaughter generally applies where death is the unintentional consequence of the actions of the accused. Wikipedia uses this example: “If a person throws a brick off a bridge into vehicular traffic below,” and a person were to die as a result.

U.S. law also distinguishes between types of murder. First degree murder is defined by the planning (premeditation) of the act, whereas second degree is considered a “crime of passion,” the accused killing out of emotional strain or impulse.

Should have been "voluntary manslaughter" at the very most.

In no way does it rise to the level of either premeditation, nor a crime of passion based on emotion, where she would have had to know him, which are the two bases for a murder charge.

[infullview]

56. I agree with you, this looks like a clear cut case of manslauter.

I haven't heard any of the trial details, but I do know that for murder you have to show intent. Had she ever met her neighbor? Did they have arguments that could have made her want to shoot him? I read it like this, she went out after work had a few drinks, came to what she thought was her apartment, and BLAM!

[cwydro]

61. I hadn't heard she was "a bit drunk."

I thought she just got off work.

Not that it should make any difference.

[USALiberal]

66. I agree with you. nt

[She_Totally_Gets_It]

68. Always give white cop the benefit of the doubt. Sad.

[SuprstitionAintthWay]

55. If it gets to an appellate court I'd expect her conviction to ultimately be 1st degr manslaughter.

[Crunchy Frog]

57. Thank you Jesus!

(And that's coming from a non-believer).

I honestly was not expecting justice to prevail, and I'm very happy it did.

I hope this will give his family some sense of closure.

[Vinca]

60. Her "castle doctrine" defense was ludicrous. The poor guy's sitting in HIS apartment

eating ice cream and she thinks he's in her apartment eating ice cream and, apparently, eating ice cream is such threatening behavior she killed him. He'd be alive and she wouldn't be going to prison if she'd just waited for backup to tell her she's a daffy woman and it's not her apartment in the first place.

[Martin Eden]

62. What was the motive?

Did the jury reject her story that she thought she was in her own apartment?