A former Dallas police officer found guilty of fatally shooting an unarmed Black man in his home is appealing her sentence.
Amber Guyger is serving a 10 year prison sentence after she was convicted of murder in 2019 for the death of 26-year-old Botham Jean.
On April 27, a panel of three judges will hear her appeal. Guyger's attorneys are trying to get her murder conviction overturned because they said she was acting in self defense at the time.
Jean lived one floor above Guyger in the same Dallas apartment complex when the September 8, 2018 shooting happened. Guyger was coming off a 13 hour shift when she entered Jean's apartment thinking it was hers.
She opened fire on Jean, who was sitting on his couch eating ice cream, because she thought he was an intruder.
The jury rejected her attorneys' claim that Guyger was protected under the Castile Doctrine because she was not in her own home. The Texas law allows a person to use deadly force "in the protection of a home, vehicle, or other property if someone attempts to forcibly enter or remove an individual from the premises."
Now Guyger's attorneys are trying to make the case she shouldn't have been charged with murder, but the lesser crime of manslaughter, CBS DFW reported.
Guyer's appeal will be broadcast on the Fifth District Court of Appeals' YouTube channel.
Photo: Mesquite County Jail