Amber Guyger's Defense Team Says Former Dallas Officer Got Fair Trial: 'She Shot And Killed Such A Wonderful, Innocent Young Man'
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Amber Guyger's defense team left the courthouse without commenting on the 10-year prison sentence she received Wednesday, after the same jury found her guilty of murder on Tuesday.
But Wednesday evening, the attorneys spoke with CBS 11 about the former Dallas Police officer's state of mind after being sentenced to prison.
They said last night, inmates in the Dallas County Jail shouted taunts at Guyger in her cell when she entered the lock up.
The members of her defense team said they believe Guyger got a fair trial.
"We did get a fair trial from a guilty finding to that sentence," said defense attorney Toby Shook. "If it had gone much higher than that, I think we really would have had a problem."
Three of Guyger's attorneys say their client is still coming to grips with being a convicted murderer and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"[The guilty verdict] was a tremendous shock to her and so she's processing it," said defense attorney Robert Rodgers.
They believe the reason she was found guilty is because of who Botham Jean was.
"She shot and killed such a tremendously wonderful, innocent young man," said Rodgers.
"In self-defense cases, many times the victims are not the best character and you can bring it out in the trial," said Shook.
But they also said Guyger was put on trial for too many things that didn't matter.
"The state had 37,000 pages of phone information and they pulled four to five things that appear to be out of context," said defense attorney Shelley Shook. "I think this trial turned into a race issue when it wasn't."
Even these veteran criminal lawyers said they were deeply moved by the embrace between Guyger and Botham Jean's brother as well as Judge Tammy Kemp gifting the woman she sent to prison with a bible.
"I was the most amazing thing I've seen in the courtroom," said Toby Shook. "It was an amazing moment of forgiveness grace and healing."
The attorneys are considering an appeal of the verdict.
