A Dallas jury found former police officer Amber Guyger guilty of murder on Oct. 1 when she accidentally walked into a neighbor’s apartment thinking it was her own and shot him dead as he ate ice cream.
“We the jury unanimously find the defendant Amber Guyger guilty of murder as charged in the indictment,” Judge Tammy Kemp read aloud to the courtroom from the jurors’ statement. A sob, which sounded like it came from Guyger’s bench, cut the judge off and Kemp paused to address the courtroom: “No outbursts.”
Guyger, who spent four years on the force before the killing, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the slaying.
She took the rare step of testifying in her own defense during her trial, tearfully expressing regret for shooting Botham Jean, a 26-year-old PwC accountant, but said she had believed her life was in danger when she pulled the trigger.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. I have to live with this every single day,” Guyger told the jury of eight women and four men.
In cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Jason Hermus asked her, “When you shot him twice, you intended to kill him, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Guyger responded, in a calm voice.
Prosecutors also argued that Guyger did little to help Jean even after realizing her mistake, calling the 911 emergency phone number for an ambulance but not administering first aid.
They also asked why Guyger didn’t radio in for help when she thought there was a break-in at her home. Guyger said that going through the doorway with her pistol drawn, “was the only option that went through my head.”
Hermus also told the jury that Guyger missed blatant clues that she was not in her own apartment—including the smell of marijuana smoke—because she was distracted after a 16-minute phone conversation on her commute with her former police partner. Guyger testified that the call was in relation to work.
The shooting stood in contrast to cases like the killings of Michael Brown in Missouri and Philando Castile in Minnesota. Guyger shot Jean while she was off duty, rather than while responding to a reported crime.
In her testimony, Guyger told jurors that the shooting “is not about hate; it’s about being scared.”
The Castle Doctrine and Closing Arguments
After six days of witness testimony, the prosecution and defense teams rested Monday morning, then presented a dramatic two hours of closing arguments. Prosecutors leaned heavily on their emotional appeal, while the defense urged the jury to use discipline and focus on the law.
In a significant move, the judge allowed Guyger’s attorneys to argue the so-called castle doctrine—or stand your ground laws—as part of their defense, since Guyger believed she was in her own apartment. Guyger’s actions were reasonable, defense attorneys said, and any ordinary person could have made the same mistake in a similar situation.
“The law recognizes that mistakes can be made. It’s always tragic. The law’s not perfect. It’s tragic, but you have to follow this law,” attorney Toby Shook told the jury.
Shook urged jurors to look at the case “calmly” and not decide on emotion, sympathy, or public pressure. “But you have to use the discipline not to do that,” he said.
“That’s hard, especially in a case like this,” he added. “You’ll never see a case like this, that’s so tragic. So tragic. It’s hard to do as jurors. Who would not have sympathy for Botham Jean? Wonderful human being—died in these horrible, tragic circumstances. Who would not have sympathy for his family or anyone in that position? Everyone does, but that is not part of your consideration as a jury.”
Prosecutors argued self-defense is thin legally because Guyger was not in her own home. She acted disproportionately, prosecutors said, and had less lethal options available, like using her stun gun or mace, rather than acting immediately with deadly force.
“Self-defense is an option of last resort. She killed him unreasonably and unjustifiably,” said lead prosecutor Hermus.
The Associated Press and CNN Wire contributed to this report.
