Victim’s Family Reacts to Amber Guyger’s Sentence of 10 Years

Nobody was surprised when Amber Guyger was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Botham Jean. Many were surprised that she was only sentenced to ten (10) years. We saw how the victim’s family reacts to Amber Guyger’s sentence, and while many of Botham’s family members were unhappy with the sentence, Botham Jean’s brother gave a heartfelt statement openly forgiving Guyger for her actions.

Last September, Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, entered the apartment of Botham Jean and opened fire, killing him. She claimed that she thought she was in her own apartment. She said she believed the victim was an intruder and so she fired her weapon.

In reality, Guyger lived on the first floor of the apartment complex. It’s unclear exactly why she would think that Jean’s apartment, which was on an entirely different floor, was her own. However, she said that after working a very long shift, she was simply confused.

When she entered the apartment, Jean was sitting on his couch watching television. He was also eating some ice cream. Hardly the behavior one would envision of an intruder. Guyger opened fire and killed him instantly. She then proceeded to call 911. In her 911 call, she stated at least 19 times that she thought he was an intruder.

Earlier this month, Guyger was found guilty of murder. Her sentencing hearing was yesterday. During the hearing, the victim’s brother, Brandt Jean, was allowed to make a statement regarding the sentence.

Instead of spewing hatred at the defendant, Brandt said that he had forgiven her and wished only the best for her. He said his hope was that Guyger would give her life to Christ and ask for God’s forgiveness as well.

After his statement, the young man asked the judge if he could hug Guyger. The judge agreed and the two hugged for what seemed an eternity.

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