Posted on 10/02/2019 9:33:26 AM PDT by Navy Patriot
A former police officer who argued she had a right to use lethal force when she killed an innocent man after mistakenly entering his apartment has been convicted of murder.
Amber Guyger faces a lengthy prison sentence after a jury found her guilty of the murder of Botham Jean in Dallas on 6 September last year – a verdict Jean family attorneys hailed as a significant moment in the battle to hold police accountable.
Guyger is white. Jean was black. Guyger is the first Dallas police department officer to be convicted of murder since the 1970s, the Dallas Morning News reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Not sure, and not familiar with Texas law, my take is race was not a factor, the jury pegged her as a liar, was pissed, and gave her the max option.
If it was a mistaken entry into what she thought was her’s. Manslaughter
If she new it wasn’t her apartment. Murder.
Of course race has entered into this. The real racism is not her killing him, but the trial itself.
“”How’d you react if some cop entered your home and shot you?””
Probably react DEAD.
It was “just” murder, but I guess we’ll never know if it was premeditated - we have only her say-so.
If he was a family member of mine I’d want a murder conviction as well; anything less vindicates the blactivists that claim two different justice systems.
We’ll never know if it was premeditated or not. All we have is her word and that’s not very reliable to many.
How does anyone climb another set of stairs, walk down the hallway seeing a bright red welcome mat that isn’t yours open the door to an apartment that doesn’t look like yours and then blow away a guy who isn’t threatening you without it being intentional?
I might have been swayed to a lesser charge but for that red mat. No way after seeing the police body camera. Bright red. The only color in the hallway.
And re-read my comments. I never said...nor do I believe...that she should "get off". Ten years in prison for negligence but no more.
I don’t see this standing up on appeal!
Mine also. She must be a mental case.
“I am firmly convinced that she didn’t set out to harm anyone...she made a huge mistake.”
Mistake? LOL!
Did she break in or did she think it was her home?
No, there is more.
“Mine also. She must be a mental case.”
She was assigned to elite squad of about 10 members.
Her second shooting. First was when some dude took her taser away.
And when you enter your home you always do a 10 minute analysis of everything around you?
“”walk down the hallway seeing a bright red welcome mat that isn’t yours open the door to an apartment that doesn’t look like yours””
You believe she knew the door to the wrong apartment was going to be open and she could walk right in?
You left out the part where she killed him.
Do we, the public, know if she was on any meds of any kind ?
otc or Rx
“”I’m strongly inclined to believe that she genuinely believed that she was entering her own home.””
Same here..
She was in the apartment without the permission of the person residing there. That's breaking in.
It all comes down to motive. What motive did she have to intentionally cause his death? As I said in an earlier post if there had been "bad blood" between them (as often happens with neighbors,particularly in apartment buildings) then my first thought would have been "murder".
No motive = no "murder"...in my book at least.
In Texas, if you kill someone while committing a crime, it is murder, plain and simple. Easy decision.
She entered illegally (breaking and entering with no warrant). The law has no provision for “I made a mistake” .
Now the hard part -—sentencing -— which is where all the other factors can be considered.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.