Texas Court Denies the Appeal of Amber Guyger, the Ex-cop Who Killed Botham Jean In His Apartment

Convicted killer cop Amber Guyger won’t be coming home anytime soon, a judge ruled.

Guyger was sentenced in 2019 for shooting Botham Jean in his own apartment a year earlier, arguing before and during her trial that she thought he was in her place and that she fired the fatal shots in self defense.

That implausible defense didn’t work in her favor then and it apparently doesn’t work now, as Texas’ Court of Appeals rejected Guyger’s request to have her case reviewed. A lower court had already tossed out her appeal in which she actually argued that she shouldn’t be in prison because she legitimately–but mistakenly–thought she was in her own apartment when she shot Jean, who was literally on his own couch eating ice cream whens he barged in.

Oh the Karen of it all.

From the Dallas Morning News

Because the nine-member court has the final appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases, the decision means Guyger has likely exhausted all avenues to appeal her conviction and sentence.Michael Mowla, Guyger’s appellate lawyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Toby Shook, who represented Guyger during her murder trial, declined to comment.Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said his office expected the court’s decision, “and we are pleased that the sentence is finalized at this point and will be carried out according to the law.” In a legal statement in response to the original appeal, Creuzot’s office was terse: “When, intending to kill, you shoot an unarmed man in the chest while he’s sitting on his couch eating ice cream, that’s murder regardless of where you think you are when you do it.”

It could be worse for Guyger, who at the time was a Dallas police officer. She becomes eligible for parole for the first time next year, which is a helluva lot sooner than Jean will be eligible to do anything.