North Texas Daily

Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, entered into the apartment of Botham Jean and shot and killed him. He was only 26 and innocent.

Guyger was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in five years.

This sentence is too short, and is too lenient considering Jean will not be able to return in five to ten years because of Guyger’s horrid actions. After Guyer gets released, she will be able to try to work on normalizing her life again but Jean will never be able to do the same.

Despite the sentencing, this feels like a victory for the African-American community. There have been many deaths that police officers have gotten away with and finally charging an officer for murder has been long overdue. 

During the trial I asked myself, if this was a black man who went into the wrong apartment and shot and killed a white woman, would they have even questioned if he was guilty or not? I highly doubt it. The courts would have automatically charged him with murder and given him a life sentence. 

Additionally, Guyger was recently exposed when comments of her being racist and saying derogatory statements were released, too. In one conversation she had with someone who had adopted a German Shepherd, the dog owner wrote, “Although she may be racist,” to which Guyger replied, “It’s okay…I’m the same.”

This being said, during the trial, prosecutors asked Guyger if her intention by shooting Jean was to kill him and she agreed.

I do understand that she thought that there was an intruder in her apartment, but she should have been aware of the signs that it was not her own apartment. The red rug outside of the door should have warned her of exactly that. If that was her home and she feared for her life, it begs the question as to why she would continue to enter. As a police officer, she has already been taught to call backup in order to help her. 

Personally, if I came home and my door was already unlocked and I knew that I was the only person with a key, I would have been alerted to not enter. I would call the cops and allow them to help secure the premises. I do not believe that there should have been any type of excuse. 

I am glad that the jury found her guilty because that is exactly what she is. However, she only received a ten year sentence because the family believed that Jean would not have wanted her to have harsh punishment. Personally, this will not affect the Jean family for the next five to ten years but rather, for the rest of their lives. This will always be in their hearts and this will forever change their mindset and how their family continues to hopefully grow.

If it were me, Guyger would have received a much harsher punishment for her inexcusable actions. 

Featured Illustration: Jeselle Farias