Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
The last couple of weeks we've had a very controversial trial going on right here in Dallas. I'm sure everyone in the U.S. has heard about it but for any foreign readers I'll give you a brief description of the case:
Last year a 31 yr old white female police officer for the city of Dallas got off work after an exhausting 13.5 hour shift and headed home to her apartment.
When she arrived at her door she was alarmed that it was ajar, wasn't even shut, so she immediately thought that there was an intruder in there.
She drew her weapon and went inside, it was dark except for the light of the tv. She said she heard shuffling and a large silhouette approached her. The person was not following her commands. She shot and the person went down.
Then when she looked around she realized that she was not in her apartment! She had parked on the 4th floor parking deck instead of the 3rd floor deck. Her apartment was directly below this one.
She had entered the apartment of a young Black man, Botham Jean, an accountant, by mistake. It was a tragic error on her part, and if he hadn't left his door open she would have realized that she was at the wrong apartment.
You can see why this became a national news story with another unarmed Black man being shot and killed by a white police officer. Of course, here in Texas the debates have been raging all year.
Everyone assumed that she would surely go down for a Manslaughter charge because she didn't go there to kill an innocent person.
However, one sentence got her a murder charge. She was honest when she said that even before she entered the apartment she was going to kill the threat, or what she perceived as the threat. So the jury saw that as admitting intent to murder.
Her strongest supporting testimony actually came from a Black Texas Ranger who explained that she did everything by the book as she was trained to do under the circumstances she believed she was in..but it didn't sway the jury.
The prosecutors were asking for a 28 yr prison sentence, the demonstrators and Black activists outside were screaming for a life sentence.
The jury saw it as a tragic error and mistake and sentenced her to 10 years in prison without the chance of early release or parole.
Her tearful testimony may have helped her, after this nightmare year she said she wished she had been the one shot that night. Here she is being escorted into court:
Then Botham Jean's brother made national headlines during the victim statement part of the trial.
Here's Botham's brother Brandt:
He said this:
"I hope you go to God with all the guilt, all of the bad things you may have done in the past," Brandt Jean said. "Each and every one of us may have done something that we're not supposed to do. If you truly are sorry - I know I can speak for myself - I forgive you, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you."
"I love you just like anyone else, and I'm not going to say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did, but I personally want the best for you, and I wasn't going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don't even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that's exactly what Botham would want you to do, and the best would be give your life to Christ," Brandt Jean said.
"I'm not going to say anything else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do. Again, I love you as a person, and I don't wish anything bad on you," he tearfully continued.
He then asked Judge Tammy Kemp, "I don't know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug, please?"
It took a few moments as the Judge thought about it but then gave him permission.
He stepped down out of the witness box and she rushed toward him and they embraced for well over a minute, she was sobbing on his shoulder. The cover photo for this post shows that embrace.
As stunning and amazing as that was, there was more to come. After the trail ended, the judge, Tammy Kemp, went over to consul the Jean family.
Here's Judge Kemp:
After that she went over to Amber who was still sitting at the table, she bent down and said a few words and then left to go to her chambers but shortly returned.
She was carrying a Bible and told Amber that is was her personal Bible and she wanted Amber to have it.
Judge Kemp told Amber, "This is your job for the next 30 days. You start with this. You just need a tiny mustard seed of faith,” the judge said, and gave her some passages to read. The judge and Amber then hugged.
Amber whispered something to the Judge who replied warmly, “Ma’am,” “It’s not because I’m good. It’s because I believe in Christ.”
“You haven’t done so much that you can’t be forgiven,” the judge told her. “You did something bad in one moment in time. What you do NOW matters.”
Of course The Freedom from Religion Foundation who always finds problems where there are none quickly filed a complaint with the Texas judicial commission. That dog ain't gonna hunt in Texas.
This was one of the most remarkable acts of compassion and love ever seen in a courtroom. Young Brandt Jean walks the walk and his brother Botham, who was a faith-filled Believer, would be very proud of him. I should say IS very proud of him!
But it begs the internal question: could I be as forgiving if I was Botham's brother or family member? Could YOU be?
Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas
