Dallas ex-cop given 10 years for shooting death of Botham Jean, then Jean's brother forgave, embraced her

Brandt Jean embraces the cop who murdered his brother — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/AP)

A jury in Dallas sentenced former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger to 10 years in Texas state prison Wednesday for fatally shooting her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean in 2018, after walking into his apartment and thinking it was her own. Guyger is white and Jean was black. After the sentence was handed down, Jean's 18-year-old brother, Brandt Jean, told Guyger he forgave her, wished she didn't have to go to jail, and knew his late brother would want her to turn her life over the Christ.

"I love you as a person and I don't wish anything bad on you," Jean told Guyger, 31, then he asked the judge, "I don't know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug?" Judge Tammy Kemp, who is also black, said yes, then she also hugged Guyger as she was led from the courtroom and handed her a Bible.

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Outside the courtroom, supporters of the Jean family were angry that Guyger didn't get the 28-year sentence prosecutors had asked for — Botham Jean would be 28 today — much less the 99 years she could have been handed. Guyger will be eligible for parole in five years. At the Dallas church where Botham Jean had sung before his death, congregants applauded and said "amens" when shown the video of the embrace at a service Wednesday night, The Associated Press reports.

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Judge Kemp's decision to hug Guyger and hand her a Bible was more controversial.

The Dallas Police Department, in a statement attributed to Chief U. Reneé Hall, said Brandt Jean's "request to hug Amber Guyger and Judge Kemp's gift of her bible to Amber represent a spirit of forgiveness, faith, and trust."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.