The arguments of Amber Guyger, who claimed to be mistaken apartment, did not convince the jury, while the case had revived the debate on police violence against blacks.
“This court decision is (a rematch, ed) for Trayvon Martin , for Michael Brown , for Sandra Bland, for Tamir Rice, for Eric Garner … for so many unarmed, black and brown humans all over America.”
Ben Crump, the lawyer for Jean Botham’s family, on Tuesday quoted the names of African-American victims of the authorities, after the court convicted white policewoman Amber Guyger of the murder of Botham Jean, killed there is a little more than a year in Dallas, Texas.
LIVE: Attorneys and family of Botham Jean speak after Amber Guyger convicted of murder. https://t.co/SrKIBfr9IC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 1, 2019
She claimed to have mistakenly shot her black neighbor after mistaking her apartment. The former white policewoman was convicted on Tuesday of the murder that took place a little over a year ago in Dallas, Texas.
On the evening of September 6, 2018, Amber Guyger, a 30-year-old female police officer, had just finished her shift and was still wearing her uniform when she shot Botham Jean , a 26-year-old black accountant, who was living in an apartment in the floor above his.
She assured to have thought to open the door of her apartment and be in the presence of an intruder, on which she opened fire, before calling the help.
The 26-year-old was eating ice cream on his couch while watching television and was unarmed, according to several US media reports.
At the trial, which opened in early September in Dallas and aroused national interest, she pleaded a “tragic error” of judgment by deceiving herself.
The jury unanimously ruled on his guilt. A decision that was applauded outside the court. The jury continued Tuesday its deliberations on the length of his sentence.
Judicial statistics show that it is rare in the United States for a white policeman who has killed a black man to be sentenced for murder.