By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — A panel of three Texas appeals court judges appeared skeptical Tuesday of arguments to overturn the conviction of a former Dallas police officer who was sentenced to prison for fatally shooting her neighbor in his home.
>>>WATCH FULL TRIAL ON DEMAND: TX V. AMBER GUYGER
An attorney for Amber Guyger clashed with a Dallas County prosecutor over whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that her 2018 shooting of Botham Jean was murder.
The hearing examined a Dallas County jury’s 2019 decision to sentence Guyger to 10 years in prison for murder. It follows the recent conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, again focusing national attention on police killings and racial injustice.
FILE – This October 2019 file booking photo provided by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department shows former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger. A Texas court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday, April 27, 2021, on overturning the conviction of Guyger, who was sentenced to prison for fatally shooting her neighbor in his home. An attorney for Guyger and prosecutors are set to clash before an appeals court over whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that her 2018 shooting of Botham Jean was murder. (Dallas County Sheriff’s Department via AP, File)Guyger, 32, did not appear in court Tuesday and the panel seemed to doubt the arguments presented by her lawyer. The judges will hand down a decision at an unspecified later date.
More than two years before Floyd’s death set off protests across the country, Guyger’s killing of Jean drew national attention because of the strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of Black men by white police officers.
An attorney for Amber Guyger clashed with a Dallas County prosecutor over whether the evidence was sufficient to prove that her 2018 shooting of Botham Jean was murder.
The hearing examined a Dallas County jury’s 2019 decision to sentence Guyger to 10 years in prison for murder. It follows the recent conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, again focusing national attention on police killings and racial injustice.
Guyger, 32, did not appear in court Tuesday and the panel seemed to doubt the arguments presented by her lawyer. The judges will hand down a decision at an unspecified later date.
More than two years before Floyd’s death set off protests across the country, Guyger’s killing of Jean drew national attention because of the strange circumstances and because it was one in a string of shootings of Black men by white police officers.
