DALLAS, TX — The Texas Court of Appeals, 5th District in Dallas, denied the appeal of a murder conviction of a former Dallas Police officer. The appeals court ruled that the district court’s murder conviction and subsequent 10-year prison sentence will stand for Amber Guyger.
Guyger was a Dallas Police officer who returned home to her apartment after a 14-hour shift, court documents stated. When parking in the connected parking garage, Guyger was distracted with a cell phone conversation with her patrol partner and parked on the level that led to the 4th floor and not he 3rd floor where she lived. When Guyger approached the 4th floor apartment door, though similar to her's but not on the 3rd floor apartment where she lived, the door was ajar and she could hear someone inside. She drew her pistol and shot who she thought was an intruder in the chest from the doorway. Guyger claimed she made a mistake and did not realize she was on the incorrect floor and subsequently the wrong apartment.
Amber Guyger on the stand during her trial in September 2019
The intruder wasn’t an intruder at all. Instead it was Bothan Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, who was inside his own apartment, likely just getting up from his couch in the dimly-lit apartment. The case made national news because the shooter, Guyger, is white and Jean, the victim, was black.
Guyger’s attorneys argued on appeal that the police officer’s murder conviction should be overturned because the evidence in the district court was legally insufficient to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Guyger’s attorneys offered the possibility of a lesser conviction of criminally negligent homicide that also can carries a lighter sentence.
The appeals court ruled that the district court had not erred because the evidence during trial presented proved that Guyger intended to shoot and kill Jean in the August 5 ruling.
“The evidence is undisputed that Guyger intended the result of her conduct or acted knowingly with respect to the result of her conduct because she testified she intended to shoot and kill Jean. That she was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from intentional or knowing to criminally negligent,” states the Appeals court’s opinion. “We decline to rely on Guyger’s misperception of the circumstances leading to her mistaken beliefs as a basis to reform the jury’s verdict in light of the direct evidence of her intent to kill.”
In October 2019, Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in the TDCJ where she is currently serving her sentence. She is eligible for parole in September 2024, according to TDCJ documents.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: