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Dallas Officer Amber Guyger's trial for the murder of Botham Shem Jean begins (FOUND GUILTY)

www.dallasnews.com

Jury chosen for Amber Guyger's murder trial in the shooting of Botham Jean

Jury selection resumes Friday in the murder trial of fired Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger for killing Botham Jean, an unarmed man who was shot...
www.dallasnews.com

Jury chosen for Amber Guyger's murder trial in the shooting of Botham Jean

State District Judge Tammy Kemp sent jurors home Friday evening and said she'd call if they were selected.


Hours before 12 jurors were chosen late Friday for Amber Guyger's murder trial, a defense attorney took a moment to introduce his client.

"This is Amber Guyger," Toby Shook said, moving to stand beside her. "I am proud to represent her, along with the rest of the defense team."

Guyger, a fired Dallas police officer, shot and killed Botham Jean in his home last year after she said she mistook his apartment for her own.

For a handful of candidates in the jury pool, the details of the case were a complete mystery -- and those were just the candidates that attorneys on both sides were looking for.
State District Judge Tammy Kemp, who is presiding over the trial, left the central jury room at the Frank Crowley Courts Building late Friday to call those who were chosen: a dozen jurors and four alternates. Their gender and racial makeup was unclear.

Earlier in the day, a few hundred potential jurors returned to the courthouse outside downtown Dallas for the first time in a week to be questioned by prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge
prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge about their ability to serve.

Prosecutors and Guyger's attorneys sat up front in the jury room facing jurors. She sat among her attorneys, talking with the defense team and watching the jury pool shrink.

Kemp stood at a podium before the potential jurors and told them the goal is to find a "fair and impartial" jury.

"It only works if you are honest," she said.

Knowledge of the case doesn't preclude a juror from hearing the trial. It's bias that the judge and attorneys on both sides sought to root out.

The jury will be asked to decide whether it was a crime when Guyger, 31, shot Jean on Sept. 6, 2018. If they find that it was a crime, was it murder or a lesser crime like manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide? They could also find Guyger not guilty.

Guyger shot and killed Jean at the South Side Flats apartment building near Dallas police headquarters. She was off-duty but still in uniform when she confused Jean's apartment with her own and mistook him for a burglar, she told investigators. Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from St. Lucia, was shot once.
Testimony is expected to begin Sept. 23, and the trial could last two weeks.

Four thousand potential jurors were summoned to the courthouse last week to fill out questionnaires about their views and knowledge of the case. About 800 showed up.

The remaining 400 would-be jurors filled the second floor outside the Central Jury Room of the Frank Crowley Courts Building on Friday. They stood in several single-file lines as bailiffs slowly allowed them inside.
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LurkerSix said:
I dont know how she could possibly be found not guilty of murder.
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I said the same thing in the spring of '92. Then this happened
IMG_6319.jpg


Then this happened
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Never underestimate the inhumanity of white people and the hypocrisy of the Amerikkkan injustice system.
 
Has anyone even attempted to answer the most obvious question? If she was at the wrong apartment how did her key open his door?
 
www.theledger.com

Judge rules former police officer's murder trial will remain in Dallas

Jurors must ultimately decide whether it was a crime when Guyger, 31, shot Botham Jean in his own apartment. And if it was a crime, was it murder or a
www.theledger.com www.theledger.com

Judge rules former police officer’s murder trial will remain in Dallas

DALLAS — State District Judge Tammy Kemp ruled Monday afternoon that former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger’s murder trial will remain in Dallas.

The jury was chosen Friday. But prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred in court Monday on whether to move the case to another county.

Kemp, who is presiding over the case, had told the attorneys she would rule by the end of the day on whether to move the trial. The trial is expected to begin Sept. 23.

Neither defense attorneys nor prosecutors could comment on the judge’s ruling because there is a gag order in the case.

Jurors must ultimately decide whether it was a crime when Guyger, 31, shot Botham Jean in his own apartment. And if it was a crime, was it murder or a lesser crime such as manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide? They also could find Guyger not guilty.

The defense argued that the enormity of media coverage has tainted the jury, but prosecutors say they believe the jury can be fair.

Guyger shot and killed Jean Sept. 6, 2018, at the South Side Flats apartment building near Dallas police headquarters. She was off-duty but still in uniform when she confused Jean’s apartment with her own and mistook him for a burglar, she told investigators. Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from St. Lucia, was shot once.

One of Guyger’s attorneys, Michael Mowla, argued in court Monday that media coverage surrounding Jean’s death was so pervasive that it prejudiced the jury. But Dallas County prosecutor Doug Gladden told Kemp that residents of counties where the defense suggested moving the case see the same news coverage as people living in Dallas.

Of the 12 jurors selected for the jury on Friday, Gladden said in court, four had not heard of Guyger or Jean. Eight had. Of the 12 jurors and four alternates, Gladden said that 15 said in their questionnaires that they had no opinion about the case. One had an opinion but could set it aside and hear the evidence presented in court before making a decision.

It’s unclear how many of the jurors are men and how many are women. The jury pool was sent home before the jurors were chosen and that information has not been made public. The racial makeup of the jury is also not yet public.

If the trial had moved, only the jury pool would have changed because it would have been made up of residents from that county. The judge and attorneys would have remained on the case.

Guyger’s attorneys wrote in a motion seeking a change of venue that “media hysteria” surrounding the case has been prejudicial. They wanted court proceedings to be moved to one of six counties: Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Kaufman or Rockwall.

An analysis by The Dallas Morning News found that Guyger probably would face a jury that is whiter and more conservative if her trial had moved to one of those counties.

Exposure to media coverage of Jean’s death isn’t enough to exclude someone from jury duty. Jurors just can’t have made up their minds about whether Guyger is guilty.
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www.dallasnews.com

Police union leader's remark about delaying Amber Guyger's trial draws swift rebuke

One of the attorneys representing the family of Botham Jean said a call to move the murder trial of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger until...
www.dallasnews.com

Police union leader's remark about delaying Amber Guyger's trial draws swift rebuke

The Dallas Police Association's president says the trial's start will leave officers stretched thin during the arrival of the State Fair of Texas.



The president of Dallas' largest police union raised concerns about safety as the Amber Guyger murder trial and State Fair of Texas both begin next week.

Dallas Police Association president Mike Mata said state District Judge Tammy Kemp shouldn't start proceedings until after the fair because of potential police staffing shortages. Guyger's trial in the death of Botham Jean begins Monday; the fair begins Sept. 27 and runs through Oct. 20.

Kemp has made no indication she plans to delay the trial. Guyger, her attorneys, prosecutors and jurors have been told that testimony will begin as planned.

Mata's suggestion drew a swift rebuke from Lee Merritt, who called any call for a delay "absurd and contemptible."

There's a gag order in the trial, so no one on either side of the criminal case is allowed to speak publicly. Merritt is representing Jean's family in civil court.

Jean was shot and killed Sept. 6, 2018, in his own apartment by Guyger, then a Dallas police officer, who said she confused his apartment for hers and mistook him for an intruder.

Mata said police resources may be stretched dangerously thin during Guyger's trial and the fair if there are multiple protests.

"I just wanted it to be perfectly clear," Mata said. "We are not trying to delay this trial. All I'm saying is that if we have multiple incidents and protests and DPD officers aren't able to handle it, it didn't have to be this way. Delaying it 30 or 60 days wouldn't have made any difference" in the trial's outcome.

Lee Merritt shared his aggravation at Mata's suggestion on Twitter.

"That a police officer association would value recreation over the life of a citizen is mystifying," Merritt tweeted. "Shame on you DPA."

"The very notion is profane," Merritt added in a second tweet.

A jury was chosen for Guyger's trial Friday after a daylong selection. Kemp on Monday denied a defense motion to move the trial out of Dallas County.

One of Guyger's attorneys, Michael Mowla, argued in court Monday that media coverage surrounding Jean's death was so pervasive that it prejudiced the jury. But Dallas County prosecutor Doug Gladden argued that residents of counties where the defense team wants the case moved have see the same news coverage as people living in Dallas.
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www.nbcdfw.com

Botham Jean: A Story of Tragedy and Legacy

Jean’s family arrived in Dallas for the trial this week and his church family will gather several times before the trial’s start to pray for justice.
www.nbcdfw.com www.nbcdfw.com

Botham Jean: A Story of Tragedy and Legacy

Beginning Monday, a Dallas County jury will decide if Amber Guyger is guilty of murder


Botham Jean and Amber Guyger will now forever be linked by a tragic event.

Guyger, a now-fired Dallas police officer, shot and killed 26-year-old Jean in his own apartment in September of 2018. Guyger, 29 years old at the time, said she thought she was at her apartment and mistook Jean as an intruder.

Beginning Monday, a Dallas County jury will decide if Guyger is guilty of murder.

Jean’s family arrived in Dallas for the trial this week and his church family will gather several times before the trial's start to pray for justice.

"At the end of the day that’s really what we want to come out of this trial — Justice for Botham," pastor Sammie Berry said.

While the justice system will deal with the details of his death, Jeans friends are trying to focus on his life.

"We take some form of comfort knowing that we knew his character," said Jeremy Bonner of Arlington, a friend of Jean. "We held his hand. We hugged him."

"He would find a way to connect with individuals," friend, Dyron Jolly of Little Elm said. "That is something that is powerful to be able to do in this day and age."

Bonner and Jolly were a part of the music ministry team with Jean at Dallas West Church of Christ.

"His voice was definitely a gift from God," Jolly said.

"He was one of the worship leaders, but he also led the teaching ministry as well," Berry said. "Young adults have really struggled to come back together after losing him as their leader."

They said Jean had been a true leader for years.

"There’s no replacing a spiritual tip of the spear like Botham," Bonner said.

Jean was born and raised on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

"Botham left St. Lucia about 7 years ago," his mother Allison Jean said in an interview after his death. "He was the top student at his high school."

"Here was a young black man that one day probably would have been Prime Minister of St. Lucia," Berry said.

Jean would come to the United States and attend college at Harding University in Arkansas.

In his fourth year of college, he would land an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas where he would impress. The 6-week internship would soon become a career.

"He took his job very seriously," Allison Jean said. "I told him, he put too much pressure on himself because he would leave work late and he would come home, and he would continue working."

Dallas would become his home away from home and he found a family at his church.

"We were only two and a half years apart and I look up to him like a brother," friend, Zachary Williams of Mesquite said. "Just living on without him has been hard."

Much less is known about Amber Guyger.

According to Arlington Independent School District, she attended several schools in the district including Berry Elementary School, Carter Junior High School and Sam Houston High School where she graduated in 2008.

Guyger was with the Dallas Police Department for four years before the incident.

Now, Jean’s friends work to forgive Guyger for the death of their 'brother.'

"That forgiveness doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences," Jolly said. "God forgives us all the time, but you’ve still got to deal with your consequence for making your decision."

"While what Amber has done is very painful, I truly believe that if she were to walk through the door she would be treated with the utmost respect,” Bonner said. "She would be able to physically touch and feel the love that this congregation would embrace her with regardless of her decision."

"Forgiveness is a journey for everyone," Berry said. "So, each of us have to deal with it in our own special way."

They said his legacy will stretch beyond the walls of their church and around the nation.

"In Botham’s death, he’s had a significant impact on so many people… up to and including Amber Guyger," Berry said. "He really helped her in a way she probably never would have been helped if they don’t meet."

"It helps the whole world to see that not all black men are bad," Berry added. "You can be in the presence of a young black male and he is not going to hurt you."

"Although his death is terrible, and it is traumatic, I think that he was sparked a greater changing in his passing than he ever could in his life," Bonner said.

They said Jean’s death has helped them grow as well.

"We had a racial unity leadership conference here at our building… this lets us know that there are some walls out there that need to be knocked down,” Berry said. “As I put my preaching schedule together, I’m inviting white ministers to come in and speak to the congregation."

Now, days before the trial, they pray for justice.

"I just hope that those who are responsible for making the ultimate decisions in the trial - that they… make the right decision," Jolly said.

The trial is set to being Monday, Sept. 23.
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lawandcrime.com

Amber Guyger Sexted Partner Before Shooting Botham Jean: Prosecutors | Law & Crime

The murder trial of ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, 31, was set to begin on Monday, but first prosecutors wanted to introduce evidence showing that the defendant was sexting her police partner shortly before she shot and killed her neighbor Botham Shem Jean, 26. The state said it's...
lawandcrime.com lawandcrime.com

Prosecutors Say Ex-Dallas Cop Amber Guyger Sexted Partner Before Shooting Botham Jean

The murder trial of ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, 31, was set to begin on Monday, but first prosecutors wanted to introduce evidence showing that the defendant was sexting her police partner shortly before she shot and killed her neighbor Botham Shem Jean, 26. The state said it’s relevant to their case because it showed her state of mind during the incident, and how her attention might have been diverted leading up to the tragedy. The long and short of it is: Was Guyger reasonable in failing to know her whereabouts, and failing to notice signs that she was on the wrong floor of the apartment building?

Prosecutors say that Guyger returned to her apartment complex after a work shift on Sept. 6, 2018. She lived on the third floor, but parked on the fourth, anded up walking to Jean’s apartment. According to police, she opened the door–which was already slightly ajar–and confronted the victim, believing he was a burglar in her apartment. She pulled out her gun, giving Jean a verbal command. He didn’t listen and she opened fire twice, striking him once in the torso, she said, according to cops. During the 911 call, however, Guyger apparently realized that she had made a mistake. She was the intruder, and this was Jean’s apartment. Guyger was on the wrong floor of the apartment building.

“I’m going to lose my job. I thought it was my apartment,” she said. “Hey bud. Hey bud. Hey bud. Come on. Oh fuck. I thought it was my apartment.”

The partner is expected to testify, prosecutors said in court on Monday. They argued that if texts were taken at face value, then there was a plan to get together later that evening. Prosecutors said they will go into detail about the relationship.

The defense, in general, is trying to limit the number of texts revealed at trial. For example, these include messages between Guyger and her sister. The state said they would have to rely on these in order to help identify Guyger as the writer of the texts if the defense tried to argue that the authorship of certain messages was in doubt.
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IP360 said:
S/o just told me the make up of the jury, and even then I'm still skeptic.
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That’s the reason the DA did the interview. He wants a mistrial so they get a do over with a new jury. But the judge saw right thru it and denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial.
 
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