09/27/2019
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2019/09/27/i-was-scared-he-was-going-to-kill-me-amber-guyger-testifies-about-night-she-killed-botham-jean/
This reads like a terrible law school exam. It is a tragedy that a poor man who did absolutely nothing wrong was killed in his own home. It adds insult to injury that the Dallas Police Department where the shooter Officer Guyger was employed then publicized that the victim, Botham Jean, had about 1/3 of an ounce of ma*****na in his home when he was killed.
A quick read of Texas Penal Code section 9.32 says that a person is justified in using deadly force if she “reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary,” to prevent the other’s use of unlawful deadly force, or to prevent the commission of certain felonies (i.e. kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, or robbery.)
The law also carries a presumption that the shooters’ belief is reasonable if she had reason to believe the person shot unlawfully forced entry into the shooters occupied home, vehicle, or place of employment. A person who has a right to be present at the location where deadly force is used need not requote retreat before using force. Having no duty to retreat is sometimes called the Castle doctrine.
Here had it been Mr. Jean who shot the defendant, instead of vice versa, it seems he would have been legally justified. The defense has argued that officer Guyger’s fear was reasonable despite the fact she was on the wrong floor in someone else’s home. To me it seems patently unreasonable.
It will be interesting to see what the jury decides, and what happens with the civil case that follows.
Amber Guyger took the stand in her own defense during her murder trial Friday morning — she was the first witness defense called after the state...
