Share this @internewscast.com

DALLAS (AP) — A Texas appeals court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of a former Dallas police officer who was sentenced to prison for fatally shooting her neighbor in his home.

A panel of three state judges ruled that a Dallas County jury had sufficient evidence to convict Amber Guyger of murder in the 2018 shooting of Botham Jean.

The decision by the 5th Texas Court of Appeals in Dallas means Guyger, who turns 33 on Monday, will continue to serve her 10-year prison sentence and largely dashes her hopes of having the 2019 conviction overturned. She will become eligible for parole in 2024, under her current sentence.

The ruling comes in a case that drew national attention because of the strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of Black men by white police officers.

The appeals court justices did not dispute the basic facts of the case. Guyger, returning home from a long shift, mistook Jean’s apartment for her own, which was on the floor directly below his. Finding the door ajar, she entered and shot him, later testifying that she thought he was a burglar.

Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, had been eating a bowl of ice cream before Guyger shot him. She was later fired from the Dallas Police Department.

Guyger’s appeal hung on the claim that her mistaking Jean’s apartment for her own was reasonable, and therefore, so too was the shooting. Her lawyer asked the appeals court to acquit her of murder or substitute in a conviction for criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lesser sentence.

Dallas County prosecutors countered that the error was not reasonable, that Guyger acknowledged intending to kill Jean and that “murder is a result-oriented offense.”

The court’s chief justice, Robert D. Burns III, and Justices Lana Myers and Robbie Partida-Kipness concurred with prosecutors, disagreeing that Guyger’s belief that deadly force was needed was reasonable.

In a 23-page opinion, the justices also disagreed that evidence supported a conviction of criminally negligent homicide rather than murder, and they pointed to Guyger’s own testimony that she intended to kill.

“That she was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from intentional or knowing to criminally negligent,” the judges wrote. “We decline to rely on Guyger’s misperception of the circumstances leading to her mistaken beliefs as a basis to reform the jury’s verdict in light of the direct evidence of her intent to kill.”

Defense attorneys could still ask the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — the state’s highest forum for criminal cases — to review the appeals court’s ruling. A message to Guyger’s attorney was not immediately returned.

Source: huffpost

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Police Report: Man Allegedly Robs Friend Over PlayStation Purchase

Background: Bodycam footage of Nicholas Flores being arrested (Lee County Sheriff”s Office).…

Tool Theft Suspect Faces Charges After Police Discover $100,000 in Stolen Items

An alleged tool thief has been charged after police raided a home…

“Who could be responsible for this?’: Firebombing attack targets new childcare center”

A newly opened childcare centre has become the target of a firebombing…

DOJ Claims Rifle Was Obtained with Assistance by Trump Assassination Plotter

Left: Donald Trump playing golf at Turnberry golf course during his visit…

Suspect in Hit-and-Run Claims He Didn’t Stop Due to Fatigue: Police Report

Background: The intersection of Sunland Park Drive and Appaloosa Drive in Sunland…

Travis Decker: Authorities Locate Hiker Resembling Fugitive, Closing Idaho Manhunt for Child Killer

The U.S. Marshals task force has called off its pursuit of Travis…

Tragic Discovery: Toddler Found Emaciated and Wrapped in Plastic After False Kidnapping Report

The boyfriend of a Maryland woman charged with killing her 3-year-old daughter…

Nurse Alters Plea in Unauthorized Foot Amputation Case

Background: Spring Valley Senior Living and Healthcare Campus in Spring Valley, Wisconsin…

Mom Arrested After Tragic Incident: Drunk and Asleep, Infant Suffocates – Police

Inset: Brennan K. Spencer (Cleveland County Jail). Background: The area in Oklahoma…

Woman Receives Verdict for Poisoning In-Laws and Sister with Tainted Mushroom Beef Wellington

An Australian woman has been found guilty of the 2023 murders of…

Teenager Faces Multiple Felony Charges in Connection with Alleged Incident Involving Minor

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jack William Cheves, 18, faces charges for…

15th Tragic Incident: 5-Year-Old Dies After Being Left in Car During Mother’s Workday

An investigation is underway in Texas after a 5-year-old boy was reportedly…