Lawyers For Amber Guyger File Appeal For Lesser Charge Following Murder Conviction
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Lawyers for former Dallas officer Amber Guyger filed an appeal earlier this week, asking for a lesser charge after she was convicted of murder in the death of Botham Jean.
Guyger was found guilty of murder in October 2019 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She shot and killed Botham Jean in his apartment at the South Side Flats in September 2018.
In a filing to the Fifth Court of Appeals on Aug. 4, her lawyers argue Guyger believed she was entering her own apartment and that Jean was an intruder when she shot him, which was the same argument made during her murder trial.
According to the appeal, there was apparent confusion when Guyger arrived to the complex on the evening of the shooting as she lived on the third floor and Jean lived on the fourth floor right above her. The lawyers argue there were no indicators in the complex about what floor someone was on when they entered from the parking garage and that both the third and fourth floor hallways looked identical.
The appeal also mentions that the door to Jean's apartment was unlocked, which was how Guyger was able to enter it. However, her lawyers argue that since both of their units were laid out the same way, she thought she was entering her apartment and shot Jean, believing she was in danger.
Her lawyers said, "residents regularly parked on the wrong floor, walked to the wrong apartment, attempted to enter the wrong apartment, or entered the wrong apartment, or a combination of these."
Along with a lesser charge, her lawyers are also seeking a new sentencing trial.
The full appeal can be read here.