Amber Guyger's 'emotional' trial sparks anger online

In a trial which some called "emotional", Amber Guyger said, "I wish he was the one with the gun and killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person's life."

The case of a former Dallas police officer accidentally shooting an unarmed black neighbor shook the whole US and sparked street protests, particularly after prosecutors initially moved to charge the cop Amber Guyger with manslaughter, a charge for killing without malice. Guyger says that she entered into the house thinking it was her own and shot Botham Jean, a 26-year-old black PwC accountant thinking he was an intruder.

In a trial which some called "emotional", she said, "I wish he was the one with the gun and killed me. I never wanted to take an innocent person's life." Amber Guyger also broke out during the trial and said that she asks God daily for forgiveness.

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But Amber Guyger's emotional trial seems to have sparked anger among many people as they turn to Twitter to post their opinions on the case. The shooting was one of a series of high-profile killings of unarmed black men and teens by white US police officers.

As I reflect on the mass manipulation of #AmberGuyger trial, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge how she had instant tears for every defense interrogation but was stoic for the prosecution. Im bothered by the optics of the soft voice & constant lies. #BothamJean deserves better!

— Monica S. Blake (@TheRealMSBlake) September 28, 2019

Let’s talk about #AmberGuyger First of all—even if she does think it’s her apartment, who the f shoots when they’re in the doorway and able to run away?She renders no aid?She immediately knows it’s not her apartment?Who shoots someone and says “I’m going to lose my job”!?

— Criminelle Law (@CriminelleLaw) September 28, 2019

It is relatively rare for criminal defendants to testify in their own defense at trial since it subjects them to cross-examination by prosecutors who will attempt to poke holes in their story. In an instance during the trial, Assistant District Attorney Jason Hermus asked Amber Guyger, "when you shot him twice, you intended to kill him, didn't you?" and she responded, "I did" in a calm voice.

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#AmberGuyger entered and exited her apartment about 508 times during the 56 days she lived at Southside Flats. She testified she took her dog out 3 times a day -- that's 6 passes along her hallway every day or 332 times total for the dog.6 days a week she said she went to

— JadeinNM (@Jadeinnm) September 27, 2019

During the trial, Guyger's defense attorney, Robert Rogers, said she was "on autopilot" after a long workday on Sept. 6, 2018, when she mistakenly parked on the wrong floor in the garage and was able to enter Jean's apartment because he had left the door slightly ajar. Hermus told the jury of four men and eight women that Amber Guyger missed blatant clues that she was not in her own apartment - including the smell of marijuana smoke - because she was distracted after a 16-minute phone conversation with her former police partner during her commute. Guyger testified that the call was in relation to work.