A former Texas police officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for murdering her neighbour in 2018 when she shot him after entering the wrong apartment while off duty.
The Dallas jury could have handed down a sentence between five and 99 years to Amber Guyger, 31, for killing 26-year-old Botham Jean, who worked for an accounting firm.
Guyger, who is white, had claimed she thought Jean, who was black, was an intruder in her own apartment.
In fact, she had entered Jean’s unlocked apartment, located in the same building but one floor above hers.
“The jury has convicted Amber Guyger of ten years. Of course that’s inadequate,” the lawyer for Jean’s family Lee Merritt said on Twitter. “The entire justice system is inadequate and the work must continue.” On the night of the shooting, Guyger was still wearing her police uniform after a nearly 14-hour shift.