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Botham Jean’s Killer Is Appealing Her 10-Year Prison Sentence

Amber Guyger, the former Dallas cop who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October 2019 for murdering PwC accountant Botham Jean in his apartment a year earlier, has an appeals hearing scheduled for later this month.

The NBC affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth reported last month that Guyger’s hearing will begin at 1 p.m. CDT on April 27.

According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, attorney Michael Mowla will present oral arguments on behalf of Guyger, while assistant district attorney Douglas R. Gladden will present oral arguments on behalf of the state of Texas.

Mowla is expected to make the case that instead of murder, Guyger should have been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

NBC reported:

The defense argued that while Guyger did knowingly shoot to kill, she believed that her life was in danger and so she was entitled to use deadly force.

For the murder conviction, Guyger faced between five and 99 years but only received 10 years behind bars.

If her conviction is changed to criminally negligent homicide on appeal, Guyger would face 180 days to two years behind bars.

According to Texas law, if a deadly weapon is used, the charge is then a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum 10 years behind bars.

Probation remains an option with a negligent homicide conviction, so the best case for Guyger could be probation or time served.

Jean, a 26-year-old risk assurance associate in PwC’s Dallas office, was fatally shot in his South Side Flats apartment on Sept. 6, 2018 by Guyger, who had just gotten off shift and told authorities that she mistook his apartment for hers. She believed her apartment was being burglarized. Guyger lived in an apartment one floor directly below Jean’s apartment and had told authorities she parked on the wrong level of the South Side Flats apartment complex’s garage—the fourth floor instead of the third, where her apartment was located.

Guyger was arrested and charged with manslaughter on Sept. 9, three days after she shot and killed Jean. Guyger was released from jail on $300,000 bond. The Dallas Police Department fired Guyger on Sept. 24 for engaging in adverse conduct. She had worked at the department for nearly five years.

After two days of hearing evidence in late November, a Dallas County grand jury on Nov. 30 upgraded Guyger’s charge from manslaughter to murder. She turned herself in to authorities that afternoon and was released on $200,000 bond.

A jury of eight women and four men sentenced Guyger to 10 years in prison on Oct. 2, 2019 for killing Jean, a day after the jurors convicted her of murder.

Date Set for Amber Guyger Appeals Hearing for Botham Jean Killing [NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth]

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