After Amber Guyger was sentenced to a mere 10 years in prison for the murder of Botham Jean inside his own home, it now seems like her lawyers are considering appealing her conviction.
Dallas lawyer Pete Schulte tweeted out a document on Tuesday, showing that Guyger’s lawyers have filed a “Notice of Appeal” of her murder conviction and prison sentence. According to Schulte, the move is more procedural than final, so Guyger could still decide not to appeal the case.
If Guyger agrees to appeal her case, it will further cast her in the white privilege light, since many people considered her 10-year sentence to be weak compared to the way Black folks have been sentenced for murder.
The jury came to a guilty verdict in early October after deliberation for less than 24 hours. People at the court reported tears of joy from Jean’s family while Guyger was left in agony. The trial and sentence stemmed from the tragic September 2018 murder of Jean.
Guyger said she mistakingly entered Jean’s apartment after a long day at work as a Dallas police officer. She claims she mistook Jean for a thief and ordered him not to move. Then, she unloaded two shots at him before realizing her devastating move. Jean was killed at 26 while eating ice cream and watching T.V.
Many people challenged Guyger’s story for many reasons. One challenge was whether Jean’s door was ajar or not. Guyger says it was, but clips posted to social media by neighbors appeared to show that the apartment doors in the complex shut automatically, which suggests that Guyger was lying.
During Guyger’s seven-day trial, she also admitted that she was trained in CPR but refrained from performing the life-saving move on Jean after she shot him. Deleted text messages that weren’t allowed in the trial also demonstrated that Guyger was racist. In text messages that were released, she corresponded with a person identified as Etheridge who said they had a dog for Guyger who “may be racist.”
Guyger responded, “It’s okay… I’m the same.”
Guyger also made violent and inappropriate jokes about Martin Luther King Jr. while she was working an MLK parade. Through a text conversation with another person identified as Blevins, he typed, “When does this end?” Guyger responded, “When MLK is dead.” These very text messages could be brought up in court if she decides to appeal.
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