The defense team for Amber Guyger, the woman who was convicted of murdering Botham Jean, has filed to overturn her conviction and sentence.
Guyger’s attorneys believe there was not enough evidence for the murder charge and instead want her found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. That charge would come with a lesser sentence.
In the filing, the defense stated, “The evidence was legally insufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Guyger committed murder because (1) through mistake, Guyger formed a reasonable belief about a matter of fact—that she entered her apartment and there was an intruder inside—and (2) her mistaken belief negated the culpability for Murder because although she intentionally and knowingly caused Jean’s death, she had the right to act in deadly force in self-defense since her belief that deadly force was immediately necessary was reasonable under the circumstances.”
The former police officer is currently serving a 10-year sentence for fatally shooting Jean while he was in his apartment eating ice cream back in 2018. Guyger lived directly a floor under Jean and said she mistook him for an intruder when she entered his apartment instead of her own. During the shooting, Guyger was off-duty, but still in uniform.
During the call 911, Guyger told the operator numerous times that she thought it was her apartment. Last fall, her defense attorney used that argument as a reason for her to not be charged with murder.
Jean’s close friend Alexis Stossel spoke during the trial and said that his passing wasn’t easy for her. “Next to my husband, Botham was my absolute person,” Stossel said. “I love you, but this man is going to be in my life forever, and he’s going to be a part of us forever.”
Guyger’s attorneys are requesting an oral argument due to the legalities and facts of the case.