Amber Guyger (1988- ) is the former Dallas, Texas police officer who shot and killed Botham Jean while he was sitting in his flat watching television and eating ice cream. That was a year ago, on September 6th 2018 just before ten o’clock at night. She is White, he was Black and unarmed. They did not seem to know each other.
She said she thought it was her own apartment, which is hard to believe. She was off duty but still in uniform, coming back from working nearly 14 hours. She shot him right through the heart. She admits she meant to kill him, which makes it murder. And she did nothing to try to save his life – as shown by the lack of blood on her uniform and by the two text messages she sent to her married lover while Jean lay there dying.
The verdict: On Tuesday October 1st 2019, she was found guilty of murder!!!!!
Guyger is the first Dallas officer found guilty of murder since the 1970s.
That surprised many because judges and juries in the US, who are mostly White, bend over backwards to let White police officers get away with murder when they kill Black people. Phantom Caucasian Justice.
But in this case:
- the district attorney was Black,
- the judge, Tammy Kemp, was Black and
- five of the 12 on the jury were Black.
All made possible by Black voters. It is presumably why Guyger’s lawyers tried to get the trial moved out of Dallas.
White women’s tears: Guyger acted like she was crying when she was on the witness stand (pictured at top). I saw no tears. But more important, the jury was not buying it. White women’s tears in the US have a dark history of excusing the murder of Black people.
Castle Doctrine: To head off an appeal to the state courts, the judge told the jury to consider the Castle Doctrine: in Texas you are allowed to shoot someone who breaks into your home – your home being your castle. But to use it to get Guyger off would be to use it to protect the intruder not the homeowner! An obscenity that, yes, US courts are fully capable of.
Eating ice cream while Black: Even if it had been her apartment, all he was doing was eating her ice cream and running up her electric bill. A crime, sure, but not one that put her in immediate danger. His shorts had no pockets – while she had a gun. Her description – that he was coming towards her out of the shadows – does not match the physical evidence. When the bullet struck him he was either cowering or getting up from the sofa – not charging or confronting her.
Slave culture: After the verdict was read, a sheriff’s deputy, a Black woman, stroked Miss Amber’s hair:
Sentence: Ten years in prison out of a possible 5 to 99. Prosecutors wanted 28. She has a chance of parole after serving five years.
– Abagond, 2019.
Update (October 3rd): Here are pictures of Amber Guyger being hugged by the judge and by Brandt Jean, Botham’s brother, yesterday at the sentencing hearing.
Update (October 6th): The sad, sick nightmare continues: Joshua Brown, a key witness, was found dead, shot in the chest and the mouth. The mouth. He had no known enemies. And there is another witness, Ronnie “Bunny” Babbs, who never appeared at the trial because she was in hiding and still is. She was sickened by Brandt Jean’s performance (pictured above).
See also:
- Botham Jean – has the comment thread that took place during the murder trial
- Judge Tammy Kemp – the hugging judge
- Joshua Brown – a witness killed days later
- killer cops
- Peter Liang – found guilty but only got probation, no prison time
- Freddie Gray update – even more depressing
- Phantom Caucasian justice
- grand jury
- White women’s tears
- Alvin Kennard – served 36 years for robbing a bakery of $50 at penknife point
So unfortunate. I thought she was goi g to get off scott free. At this point I’m indifferent.
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Botham Jean’s family are a strong beautiful people that practice their Christian faith. They practice forgiveness and that is perhaps what gives them peace. I hurt for them in my heart. I hope they can just return to their homeland of St. Lucia and grieve properly and heal.
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Ten years is not enough. She probably will just do half of that and she gets to go on with her life. I for one am numb from all of this and am tired and disgusted and disappointed. I now have to figure out how to survive in this nightmare of Trump’s America.
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Racist/Oppressors always want mercy and forgiveness they themselves would not give to the people they oppress.
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Will Amber Guyger use the ten years to reflect and think about her heinous crime? Will she use that time to change and evolve and be a different person?
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Fam, I just can’t — so Imma lean on my young, Brother Tone to speak the thoughts runnin’ rampant around in my damned head:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEivSFQG0YY&w=560&h=315)
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The judge hugged Guyger and gave her a Bible and read her a scripture. The local news here in Dallas was gushing about how beautiful it all was. The black Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall said all the Dallas Police Department was moved by Botham’s young teen brother who hugged Guyger and said he forgave her.
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Could it be, or is it possible that some, maybe a lot of Black people actually love white people more than we love ourselves or other Black people? Is it a love/hate relation that we have with white people?
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Even through our grief, persecution and tragedies- there is something in the fabric of our souls that upholds the Love of God in our hearts to be forgiving even towards those who do not love or appreciate us.
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Never seen a judge hug a murderer before.
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Judge Tammy Kemp was also endorsed by The Dallas Police Department. Something to think about.
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@ Mary
Same here. The brother I understand and the sheriff’s deputy I can write off, but the judge? Why the hell is a judge hugging a convicted murderer? What is going on?
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I hate to ask this question. However, what in the world is going on with Black folks these days?? I also wonder what people around the world think of us as a group and after one of our own was murdered in his own apartment, without even as much as presenting threat to anyone.
Personally, for Judge Tammy to openly hug an admittedly racist killer cop; and for two, Botham Jean’s younger brother Brandt, who also hugged Amber as if she was a former high school classmate and from a tertiary standpoint, a Black female police officer was seen gently stroking Amber Guyger’s hair. For what!
To me, I thought of all three of these incidents to be disturbingly paradoxical and also thinly gilded by a layer of Stockholm syndrome behavior to place it in proper perspective.
If my memory serves me properly, I do not recall Louis Brown, Nicole Simpson’s father, hugging O.J. Simpson immediately after he was found not guilty of killing his daughter. Nor do I recall Judge Ito, who presided over the case, either shaking OJ’s hand or giving him a hug.
Furthermore, I am happy that Amber was found guilty. However, there are a plethora of Black males on death row within the State of Texas right now for having killed a homeowner during an attempted robbery. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be in prison, of course they should be. What I am saying is that there needs to be some judicial balance when meting out sentencing of the average citizen or an officer of the law, who are supposedly held to a higher standard. I guess this notion is merely theoretical but not yet implemented in practice.
One such individual that committed a crime similar to Amber was Cortne Mareese Robinson. In March of 2011, he shot an eighty-two (82) year old white male in his home with .357.
In stark contrast, he wasn’t sentence to a mere 10 years in prison. He is in fact, exactly where he belongs. He was sentenced to sitting on death row and this should be exactly where Amber Guyger should’ve been headed. They essentially committed the same crime, didn’t they?
Summary of Incident (public record):
“During the night in Marshall TX, the subject burglarized the residence of an 82 two year old white female and 82 year old white male. The white male was shot with a .357 revolver resulting in his death.”
https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/robinsoncortne.html
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When the races are reversed the black officer was sentenced to 12 1/2 years.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ex-minneapolis-police-officer-sentenced-to-12-years-in-shooting-of-unarmed-911-caller-11559930601
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@Mitch
BINGO!!!!!!!
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That devil deserves worse.
Pardon me for saying it, but I hated how the guard, judge, and even the BROTHER were comforting an obvious white supremacist. It was Dillon Roof 2.0
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I’m actually starting to notice how many black victims tend to be the ones that love white people. Those that don’t, most of the time, are left alone.
At least that’s what i’ve seen, but its like they’re picking off easy targets, excuse my phrasing.
That or they want to appear “higher than thou”. When they go low, we go high, that kind of mess.
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These white supremacist pos deserve no consideration. There seems to be a lot of kerchief heads down there. I bet you that female judge goes harder on Black folk. Disgusting!
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Did a judge hug that Somali/black police officer that killed that white woman in Minnesota?
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I am happy for the guilty verdict. I do hope it will have some type of impact in shoot/no-shoot training going forward that may make us all safer in the presence of police.
10 years just does not feel right at all. I’ve spoken with a few people since I learned about the sentencing and the minimum acceptable sentence I’ve heard so far was 25 years. That feels like a more appropriate minimum if any part of her story is to be believed. Given that I have zero certainty that her story is even true, a longer sentence would be equally acceptable. But, 10 years? It feels insulting. Not quite to the point of negating the verdict, because 10 years and all the lasting impacts of a felony conviction is far better than an acquittal. She will never be able to work in law enforcement or even own a firearm again which does make Texans safer. But still…
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Update: I added pictures of Amber Guyger being hugged by the judge and Botham Jean’s brother.
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The thing is, if Amber Guyger had shot anyone of those Black huggers or hair-caressers, “by mistake”, she would have just let them lie there and bleed to death too.
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I actually do believe she thought it was her own apartment. But I think she pulled the trigger because she saw a young black man. If it had been a young white girl there instead she definitely would not have shot her.
A friend of mine sent what I guess was her post-conviction mug shot (not the old one from the arrest) and mentioned you could only see anger and rage in her eyes – she thought she was going to beat the case and was enraged that she got convicted.
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And as far as the family goes, I choose to go easy on the younger brother. He’s a child still and comes from a country where white people are not the moment-to-moment, in your face imminent threat that they are here. He doesn’t know any better.
Now that judge and the bailiff? They deserve all the criticism in the world for treating AG like she was some sort of victim in this.
Also, just purely in terms of good lawyering, shame on the defense attorney for not prepping AG on the question about her intent to kill him. She should have lied and said she didn’t intend to pull the trigger, it just went off. She might have beat the whole case if she did that.
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I am kinda curious. I have not heard, nor do I know whether or not AG ever apologized to the Botham Jean family or to any one in particular for killing an innocent man.
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@rdorsey said: “I actually do believe she thought it was her own apartmen.”
You can believe what you want to believe and I don’t have a problem with that at all. But the problem here, is when you apply just little bit of critical thinking, her story completely collapse.
I don’t how many times while at work, I’ve stepped into a conference room in which I thought was unoccupied but it wasn’t. My immediate instinct is to apologize and back out of the room and go elsewhere.
Here, Amber did just the opposite by standing there and drew her weapon. I don’t believe she stepped back out of the apartment, take cover and called for back up if she truly believed someone had illegally entered her apartment. Amber’s sequence of events are totally out of order for a supposedly rational individual.
Additionally, not to mention the overall scenery, the elevation of Botham’s apartment (she lived directly below him) and last but not least, Botham’s red rug immediately outside of his door.
To my knowledge, Amber never mentioned that also had a rug of the same color at the entrance of her apartment. Now, if she did have a red rug near her door, at least it would’ve gave her story a little bit of credence.
These were all markers that she intentionally ignored. So therefore, I personally cannot believe that she was being truthful when she said she thought Botham’s apartment was actually hers.
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@blakksage, didn’t read past my first sentence, huh?
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I did not want her to get the death penalty – I do not believe in it – but 10 years and hug from the judge, what is that? Did they take her to Burger King too?
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“The brother I understand and the sheriff’s deputy I can write off, but the judge? Why the hell is a judge hugging a convicted murderer? What is going on?”
Simple, Black love for white people. Wouldn’t have occurred if she had been black. They all felt bad about inconveniencing her.
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@rdorsey said: “didn’t read past my first sentence, huh?”
I did, even though there was no reason to read any further!
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Comics genius, George Joseph Herriman, a mulatto, documented this ‘love’ on a daily basis in his Krazy Kat series. I wouldn’t be so harsh on the bailiff, we don’t know what she said to Guyger. For all we know, she might have said “You’re mine now b-tch”
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It just goes to show that, whatever your current social status, being white gives you some goodies at that level. Even as a convicted murderer, Guyger got better treatment than most black people in that position. Hugs aside, she got 10 years! Marissa Alexander got double that for firing a “warning shot” that didn’t kill anyone.
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The Police Union didn’t come to Mohamed Noor’s aid they turned their back on him. He got 12 and a half years for killing that white woman in Minnesota and her family got a bigger payout than Philando Castile’s family got. And the cop that killed Philando Castile got a big payout after he was fired from the police force. It’s always about race in America. There are systemic disparities in sentencing in the judicial system when it comes to black people. Amber Guyger will probably be protected from any physical harm in prison, and will probably serve half of her sentence.
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Black folks always have to be the ones showing grace and mercy, but no grace and mercy is shown to them in this country. The Mother Emmanuel Church killer Dylan Roof was shown mercy and forgiveness, and whites just love and marvel at this kind of thing. If Botham Jean had been the one breaking and entering the apartment of Amber Guyger and he shot and killed her, trust and believe he would be on death row or get life in prison. The judicial system and law enforcement is dysfunctional and needs to be fixed.
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I didn’t see Amber Guyger’s family offering condolences to the family of Botham Jean.
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She definitely should have gotten more time than Mohamed Noor. He was on duty, she was not. He was responding to a call, she was not.
Did the Australian woman’s family forgive Mohamed Noor? Did the judge hug him?
Were there any racist text messages on his phone?
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We forgive and forgive yet the dominant culture continues to trespass against us.
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All of those Black people, including the judge, hugging a known anti-Black murderer was a truly disgusting display. Being a believer in Christianity should not be an excuse for shockingly stupid public behavior.
I found myself more angry at the brother, the deputy and the judge than Guyger, yesterday. Guyger’s lame theatrics and her mother’s mentioning the ‘poor’ Amber had been molested as a child (relevance?) were to be expected. The lack of self respect the hugging Negros exhibited was appalling. What were they thinking?
I am also concerned about the message their actions sent to young Black children looking at that vomit worthy spectacle on television: Black folk are expected to caress, forgive and even hug racist murderers who stomp into a neighbor’s home and commit coldblooded murder?!?
Finally, there is the matter of Guyger getting the ridiculous sentence of ten years for commiting first degree murder. Really!!!
There have been heartbreaking cases where Black women who got 25 years to Life for:
➽ merely being a drug dealer’s girlfriend (she was not personally involved with drugs at all)
➽ owning a car dealership that happened to sell a truck to a drug dealer
Other Black women and men have had their homes legally stolen through civil asset forfeiture because a household member was a low level drug dealer or addict.
Other Black women have been sentenced to five years in prison for enrolling their children in public school districts where they were not residents. I don’t recall anyone caressing, hugging or forgiving them.
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I saw an opinion piece about the mercy and grace shown in the courtroom on last evening and how wonderful that was instead of racial retaliation. That struck a nerve.
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@Afrofem
I was confused why Guyger’s mother was talking about Guyger being sexually molested as a kid. I didn’t understand the correlation to her daughter murdering Botham. I guess she was trying to help her daughter and show her to be the victim. The judge was endorsed by the Dallas Police Department when she was running in the election. In my opinion the judge is bought and paid for by the police department, they are in bed together.
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“Being a believer in Christianity should not be an excuse for shockingly stupid behavior.” I wish I could give this a million upvotes.
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@Afrofem
I still haven’t watched coverage of the hugfest. Hearing about it was enough and I didn’t need to see it in motion. It made me sick to my stomach and I wondered how the brother could be moved to that when his parents were at the forefront of seeking justice. To me, it was a slap in the face. Glad to see that I’m not alone.
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“Shockingly stupid public behavior” There’s the rub. Doing that in public. It was embarrassing.
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@Mary Burrell
It is Cheap grace, forgiveness without repentance. That the short version.
Is it that the oppressed is always trying to prove they are better than the oppressor?
Is it because we believe and/or were told that we are the moral compass of this country?
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@ Mary Burrell
“The judge was endorsed by the Dallas Police Department when she was running in the election.”
Thanks for that info. At least one mystery is solved.
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@ Mitch
“Is it because we believe and/or were told that we are the moral compass of this country?”
Or is it because Black people have been terrorized and cowed into not showing appropriate and well deserved anger? Even in the face of extreme provocation, Black folk are lambasted for showing normal human anger.
How many times have we heard or read about some Black person saying they did not want to be the Angry Black man or woman? Black people need to realize that normal human anger is not immoral or unhealthy.
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@ Afrofem
Yes, especially the last sentence. Weren’t we (some, if not most) taught that we had to be better than them, work harder than them, and for the religious folks, taught to forgive and pray together and ask god to forgive them, which I believe is what the judge was doing, bearing witness? It is all a sorry mess.
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMW8vl8KHfc)
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These people are demonic.
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These huggers are giving slave religion a bad name.
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Guyger’s lame theatrics and her mother’s mentioning the ‘poor’ Amber had been molested as a child (relevance?) were to be expected.
There is no relevance. It is not a mitigating factor. If she was so ‘psychologically damaged’ from this, how did she pass the psychological test, such as they are to get on a police force? I’m not being facetious here, she slipped through the cracks. In any case, it doesn’t mitigate the murder of this man.
The lack of self respect the hugging Negros exhibited was appalling. What were they thinking?
I read somewhere that the police union endorsed the judge.
Black folk are expected to caress, forgive and even hug racist murderers who stomp into a neighbor’s home and commit coldblooded murder?!?
Teaching cognitive dissonance at an early age! It is better for them to be outraged at this and discuss it!
I saw an opinion piece about the mercy and grace shown in the courtroom on last evening and how wonderful that was instead of racial retaliation. That struck a nerve.
Espousing a modern-day version of Stepinfetchit behaviour!
How many times have we heard or read about some Black person saying they did not want to be the Angry Black man or woman? Black people need to realize that normal human anger is not immoral or unhealthy.
Yep, and when expressed can be cathartic. Repressing these rightful feelings of anger can lead to illness both mental and physical.
On forgiveness; In order to forgive, the recipient has to be genuinely contrite. This beast was worried about what would happen to her. Forgiveness is greatly overblown anyway. Black people should be aware that it is okay not to ‘forgive’ your oppressor. I think it is bizarre to do so, perverse. In closing, I don’t give a f–k what these malfeasants think regarding forgiveness and taking the ‘moral’ high ground. They sure as f–k don’t, yet they expect you to be a good Negro and comply otherwise you’re just a scapegoat to pin their own hatred and self-loathing on. What will that get you? A wooden box and a six-foot hole.
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@ Herneith
It was not just the police union, it was the WHITE police union. Dallas has three police unions, one for Whites, one for Blacks and one for Latinos.
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@ Mitch
“Weren’t we (some, if not most) taught that we had to be better than them, work harder than them…”
Your point is well taken. I certainly had similar messages ground into my brain as a child:
◎ work twice as hard to be considered just as good…
◎ control your public speech and movements so as not to be seen as too Black…
◎ a White man with a high school education can make more money than a Black man with a Phd…
“…for the religious folks, taught to forgive and pray together and ask god to forgive them, which I believe is what the judge was doing, bearing witness?”
Was the judge ‘bearing witness’ or signalling submission to her masters? Her leninent sentencing of the murderer Guyger was bad enough. For the judge to physically leave the bench in open court to speak to Guyger as an equal, give her a gift and a (gagging sound) hug was absolutely extraordinary!
There was no ambiguity in the crime Guyger committed. It was premeditated murder. For the judge to behave like a Mammy instead of an officer of the court means that she had an agenda that went beyond this case. She was signalling her cooperation with the police union plus the local and national White Power Structures.
The actions of the judge, the deputy and the brother all bring to mind the words of Carter G. Woodson in 1933:
The Mis-Education of the Negro pages 84-85
No one had to order these three to the ‘back door’, they publicly installed one for themselves. Their actions also had the effect of drawing attention away from the un-bought Black people who were protesting the case outside of the courthouse. Guess who got more airtime and ink?
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@ Herneith
“Repressing these rightful feelings of anger can lead to illness both mental and physical.”
Agreed.
A lot of times, Black people repress normal anger only to redirect it to each other in the form of interpersonal violence and themselves as chronic illness.
There is an old saying that ‘anger corrodes the vessel’. That is true, if anger is held inside with no healthy outlet it will destroy you from the inside out. What is often not mentioned is that healthy anger focused on a specific objective and used as a power source can give a person or a people the fuel to accomplish goals that otherwise seem impossible.
Perhaps that is why the Powers That Be encourage Black anger repression and laud Black ‘forgiveness’.
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The father of Botham Jean says of Amber Guyger’s done serving her time he would like to be her friend someday. I have no words. I guess it is not my place to judge the son and father. I suppose this is their personal decision to make and they are trying to be obedient to the tenants of their Christian faith.
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@Herneith
“There is no relevance. It is not a mitigating factor. If she was so ‘psychologically damaged’ from this, how did she pass the psychological test, such as they are to get on a police force?”
I literally yelled almost these exact words at the TV! It’s tragic sure and I won’t deny her pain but, if it made her a danger to society then she should have failed the psych eval.
@Abagond
“Dallas has three police unions, one for Whites, one for Blacks and one for Latinos.”
Truth? How can something make total sense and be so absurd at the same time? These are some messed up times we’re living in.
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@ Mary Burrell
“I saw an opinion piece about the mercy and grace shown in the courtroom on last evening and how wonderful that was instead of racial retaliation.”
I believe this statement holds the key. White people are terrified of the possibility of racial retaliation, so much so that they are frightened by even nonviolent expressions of righteous anger such as picketing.
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Deprivation Of Rights Under Color Of Law
TITLE 18, U.S.C., SECTION 242
Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
For the purpose of Section 242, acts under “color of law” include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within the their lawful authority, but also acts done beyond the bounds of that official’s lawful authority, if the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties. Persons acting under color of law within the meaning of this statute include police officers, prisons guards and other law enforcement officials, as well as judges, care providers in public health facilities, and others who are acting as public officials. It is not necessary that the crime be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of the victim.
The offense is punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime, and the resulting injury, if any.
https://www.justice.gov/crt/deprivation-rights-under-color-law
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This is a perspective from a friend of mine who lives in the Caribbean on the island of St. Vincent. She was explaining to me about how intersectionality and race operate in the Caribbean. Especially in respect to the Jean family. “They are West Indians who live permanently in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean acts of racism and white supremacy in all of its form are not something we encounter on a regular, especially on islands like St. Lucia, the dynamics in Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica, and Guyana would be slightly different but holds mainly true. What we know is lots of classism; we are able to recognise the big acts of racism as well as the overt forms. On the other hand institutional or the micro forms, we are not so good at identifying; I had a dude that migrated and came back home tell me once that there is no such thing as institutional racism. That is why I am maintaining forgiveness coming from them has more to do with ensuring they are living their faith and trying to be living testimonies so that they develop that faith that they have.”
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(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc8yRyBll-Q)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/22/black-america-should-stop-forgiving-white-racists/
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRzEJUfyWKE)
When will black people learn?
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@satanforce
At the facility I work at one of the physicians told me he and his wife had seen a wonderful film at their church about the Charleston Mother Emmanuel tragedy, and how amazing it was that the families had forgiven Dylan Roof. I had no idea that there was such a film out. But he just went on about how great it was.
I agree that black folks need to stop absolving these monsters for their heinous crimes. They don’t deserve mercy or grace especially unrepentant ones like Dylan Roof.
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@ satanforce
Thanks for the WAPO link. Though written in 2015, the words of Stacey Patton are just as appropriate today as they were four short years ago:
When will black people learn? I hope soon.
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One can only hope the family files a civil rights lawsuit against the police department. But then again, perhaps forgiveness is enough for them. Personally, I’d forgive them for 50 million dollars US.
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The jurors are the reason for this slap on the wrist. Watching Good Morning America and two of the jurors said the prosecutor wanted them to go for an “eye for an eye” and they were so emotional they couldn’t go for the 28 years the prosecution was asking them to do because that would have been too harsh. This whole trial has been disgusting. There were five black jurors and six people of color and two white people. This whole trial has been nothing but a farce. There really was no real justice. You can’t even count on black folks to do the right thing. A virulent racist kills a black man in his home and those sorry imbeciles couldn’t do the right thing. So much was wrong about how this case was handled. This has been psychologically draining for me. Time to move on.
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One last thing. Judge Tammy Kemp was very inappropriate with that hugging incident. I can’t judge her sincerity on her spirituality. But I can say this was not a church service, this was a court of law, and if Kemp was so concerned about Guyger’s soul then she needed to do her Christian missionary work on her own time in private. The white supremacy slavery Christianity that was on display for optics, is sends a false message about forgiveness. And the dominant culture sees this and they never do any work to fix the system that black folks get the short end of the stick and they continue to benefit and prosper. Tammy Kemp needs to be removed from the bench.
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The dominant culture using black forgiveness to further victimize black people is sinful.
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@ Mary
The cynic in me says that Judge Kemp hugged Amber Guyger because she wants to keep the White police union and White voters on her side despite the conviction of a killer cop in her court. But it could just be cheap Negro forgiveness too.
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@ Mary Burrell
Thanks for those details about the jurors. This trial was rigged from the word ‘go’.
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“Negroes sweet, docile, and kind beware the day they change their minds.— Langston Hughes
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Today I discovered the poem by Langston Hughes called Warning that is so apropos for this past weeks travesty/tragedy .
Negoes,
Sweet and docile,
Meek, humble and kind
Beware the day
They change their mind!
Wind
In the Cotton Fields,
Gentle Breeze:
Beware the hour
It uproots trees!
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@Afrofem
When I watched the two jurors being interviewed on Good Morning America, one a young black woman and the other a young white man. “We all believed she made a mistake.” The black woman says, I believe Amber was sorry and this has changed her life”. Then the white guy says “The way they described him and his life, this would be the right thing to do.” We believe this is what he wanted.” And then the black woman says “We just need to love each other.”
This is a bastardized form of forgiveness.
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@ Mary
I agree. Judges hugging convicted murderers, especially killer cops, sends dangerous mixed messages.
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She actually passed her police exam…..but couldn’t find her own apartment.
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Joshua Brown, a witness who testified against Guyger in the murder trial has been shot to death.
What’s going on here?
Random or related?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/05/us/botham-jean-neighbor-killed/index.html
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Related. I was afraid of this.
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This is a youtube clip of a part of his testimony:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=S1KN3UHFlFw)
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I’m so mad!
This man essentially gave his life for Guyger to get a slap on the wrist and for her to be forgiven and given hugs. When are black people going to wake up?
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This whole thing is just so sad, sickening and nightmarish.
After all that sickening hugging up of Miss Amber they still kick us in the face.
I do not know what the Dallas police can possibly say that would convince me they are not behind it. I have zero trust in them. It would take the FBI and maybe not even then. It is just too much of a coincidence.
I hope I am wrong.
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@ Origin
Thanks for sharing that CNN link. This portion of the article jumped out at me:
Seems like someone was sending a message—-gangland style.
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I wonder now whether fear of retaliation played into those hugs. Maybe the judge and the deputy were signalling “Please don’t kill me.” Maybe they knew or suspected what the Dallas PD was capable of. Same with the black Texas Ranger who testified that he didn’t think Guyger should go to jail.
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Dallas newspaper quotes the prosecutor as saying Joshua Brown testified when others would not:
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/10/05/man-fatally-shot-apartment-complex-near-dallas-medical-district-suspect-loose/
Were other witnesses afraid to testify? Were they threatened?
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While I understand grace and forgiveness, being lenient sends the wrong message to racists. If anything this absurd story can be the beginning of more absurd stories and who knows what we will hear next? Are black people even safe in a dressing room, you never know, a white woman might “feel threatened” and cause harm which is not a problem seeing as hugs await any decision she makes. We need to take a firm stance and This, this is not it.
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Oh, man I am slow on the uptake. This isn’t just retaliation. If her appeal is granted and this goes to a new trial, he has been eliminated as a witness.
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Can the prosecution appeal her conviction? Can federal charges of Civil Rights violations be laid?
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Jesus! I am just waking up and reading this. This is quite nightmarish. Now I wonder if the Dallas Police had something to do with this.
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I added an update to the post:
Update (October 6th): The sad, sick nightmare continues: Joshua Brown, a key witness, was found dead, shot in the chest and the mouth. The mouth. He had no known enemies. And there is another witness, Ronnie “Bunny” Babbs, who never appeared at the trial because she was in hiding and still is. She was sickened by Brandt Jean’s performance (pictured above).
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The hugging judge has been making the rounds on different mainstream media and talk shows. She does lots of crying, she will be featured on the Tamron Hall Show. She says she’s gotten lots of death threats and her family is frightened for her.
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On the Tamron Hall show you say? I look forward to that for sure. Tamron’s softer side may put guests at ease, but she’s also a very competent and hard-hitting journalist. I suspect it’ll be an interesting interview.
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There is a petition to have Lamar Street named after Botham Jean. Lamar Street is where the apartment complex Botham Jean and Jason Brown and Guyger lived. This in my opinion is a bad idea. It’s like trying to put a band-aid on an infectious gaping wound. And I doubt that the Jean family especially the mother wants to come back to Dallas since they are still grieving and hurting.
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@ Mary Burrell
“She says she’s gotten lots of death threats and her family is frightened for her.”
Some people claim to have gotten “death threats” as a way of ginning up sympathy for themselves and painting critics as homicidal maniacs. I’ll bet she still has not taken responsibility for her inappropriate actions in the courtroom.
Perhaps in her own mind, she is just a hugging, crying victim of mean Black people. SMH
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@ Afrofem
She said she doesn’t understand the outrage, and hatred.
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@ Afrofem
She said it was Guyger who asked her for the hug. She said she’s ashamed that Guyger asked twice, and she is ashamed that Guyger had to ask twice before she responded. She said she told Guyger to forgive herself. Then she gave her the Bible.
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As for the bailiff that appears to be brushing or caressing Guyger’s hair. Judge Tammy Kemp said the black lady bailiff was searching Guyger’s hair for razor blades. A tearful Judge Kemp says it was lunch hour and Guyger had to be frisked and searched. Judge Tammy Kemp was a guest on The Tamron Hall Show. She was very emotional.
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I think it’s fairly predictable that people would be annoyed by all that hugging especially as Guyger got a rather lenient sentence.
But Tamron Hall has her own show! I’m still remembering how she was forced out at NBC so that Megyn from Fox could come in and she was a total flop! NBC seems to treat some of their on air personalities pretty badly unless they’re particularly big names. There was controversy around the way Ann Curry left NBC as well. Anyway, Megyn did not even survive her contract while Tamron moved on to new things. Great.
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@ Mary Burrell
“A tearful Judge Kemp says it was lunch hour and Guyger had to be frisked and searched. Judge Tammy Kemp was a guest on The Tamron Hall Show. She was very emotional.”
Found an (4:55) excerpt of the Tamron Hall interview on YouTube:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRTqJq0BETs)
Judge Kemp was in pure damage control mode, complete with a few tasteful faux tears. The supportive handpicked studio audience did their job but the YouTube commenters were not buying Judge Kemp’s BS. A sampling:
Linda Easley
“How many murderers is she in the habit of hugging and giving a Bible too? Just cops?”
James Miller
“Ms. Tamron, why don’t y’all just call us stupid and save time…”
Andre Godfrey
“I’d understand if she would’ve hugged & comforted Botham Jean’s family”
mee mee the cat
“YOU TREATED HER LIKE SHE WAS THE VICTIM.”
thorsbeat
“She definitelylied about the hair why did she just search her hair only? To search hair you run your fingers through it not stroke it.”
Yvonne Blake
“I Pray The Citizens-Especially, Black Go To The Polls To Vote Her Out Of Office! TAMMY The MAMMY!”
I especially agree with the last comment. Judge Kemp needs to be voted out of office.
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Was listening to Roland Martin Unfiltered podcast. Judge Kemp said she did hug the Jean family. She said that wasn’t shown. She said Guyger asked her if God would forgive her? Judge Kemp said she told Guyger to forgive herself. Judge Kemp said Guyger would return her Bible when she saw her in ten years.
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I record The Tamron Hall Show (her last day was my last day watching the Today show and I record her new show in the hopes that somehow it boosts ratings statistics). So, I watched the whole Judge Kemp segment. I went into it ready to watch Tamron take her to task, and while the interview was very soft, I did come away feeling like I would never have acted as the Judge did, but also not feeling so judgemental of her actions. Honestly, taken out of context, it’s understandable. However, taken within the context of some of the things she did that felt like influencing the trial (castle doctrine comments, etc..), the hug still feels political if nothing else.
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Guyger is appealing and trying again to make a self-defense claim.
A. She claimed on the stand to feel guilty… but not guilty enough to serve her ridiculously short 10-year sentence I guess.
B. She broke into a man’s apartment and killed him. That’s murder.
C. If you’re incapable of figuring out where you live, you’re incapable of wielding a firearm.
D. Even if her “mistaken apartment” story is true, it simply cannot be permissible to enter someone else’s home, kill them and claim you entered the home by mistake in order to get away with it.
E. I hereby assert copyright over “The Guyger Defense” so that I can get royalties whenever it’s used in movies and TV to get away with murder.
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@Open Minded ObserverI 100% cosign EVERY. WORD. YOU. SAID! This woman played them all — on national TV — and they excused her B.S. because, God. SMDH
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