Amber Guyger Sentenced To 10 Years In Murder Of Botham Jean

DALLAS, TX — Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Botham Jean in his own apartment, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to reports.

On Tuesday, a jury found Guyger guilty of murder in the killing of Jean. Prosecutors had asked the jurors to consider at least a 28-year sentence for Guyger, as Jean would have been 28 today were he still alive.

In an emotional scene in the courtroom, Jean's younger brother, Brandt Jean, told Guyger he forgave her and hugged her in the courtroom after asking the judge for permission. He said he did not want Guyger to go to jail.

"I want the best for you," Brandt Jean said. "Because I know that's exactly what Botham would want you to do.

"And the best would be give your life to Christ."

Sobs could be heard in the courtroom as the two embraced hard.

Guyger's trial in the shooting death of Jean began Sept. 23. Jean was fatally shot in September 2018 when Guyger entered his home after returning from work and thought she was in her own apartment. Prosecutors said Jean was eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream at the time of the fatal shooting.

Lead prosecutor Jason Hermus said Guyger should have known she was outside the wrong apartment — at which point she drew her gun — because of the distinctive bright red doormat that lay at the entrance to Jean's home. Hermus also said even if she missed that sign, she should have retreated and called for backup when she found the door unlocked.

After the September 2018 shooting, Guyger was fired from the Dallas police force. She had been an officer with the department since November 2013.

Jean, a native of the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia, had graduated from Harding University in Arkansas in 2016 and was working in Dallas for the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was used in this report.

This story is being updated.