One day after ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was found guilty in the shooting death of Botham Jean, his brother spoke at her sentencing hearing.
As WPLG reports, Guyger was sentenced to 10 years for shooting and killing 26-year-old Jean in his own apartment after she said she mistook it for her own in 2018.
During the hearing, Jean’s brother, Brandt, took the stand and in a surprising turn of events, forgave Guyger for taking his brother’s life. He said:
“I don’t want to say it twice, or for the hundredth time, what you’ve or how much you’ve taken from us. I think you know that. But I just, I hope you go to God with all the guilt, all of the bad things you’ve done in the past. Each and every one of us may have done something that we are not supposed to do. If you are truly 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. And I don’t think anyone can say it, again I’m speaking for myself not on behalf of my family, but I love you just like anyone else. And I’m not gonna say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did. But I personally want the best for you.”
Brandt continued to say that he never thought he was going to say that he forgave Guyger, or that he loves her like anyone else, or that he wants the best for her publicly, but he did.
And he continued adding that he didn’t even want to see her go to jail:
“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 too. And the best would be, give your life to Christ. […] Again, I love you as a person and I don’t wish anything bad on you.”
Then in a move that stunned the courtroom, Brandt asked the judge if he could give Guyger a hug. And that’s when the two shared an embrace seen around the country.
STUNNING MOMENT – Botham Jean's brother embraces Amber Guyger after she was sentenced for his brother's murder….
Posted by WPLG Local 10 on Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Hundreds of people were struck by the brother’s clear and poignant message of forgiveness.
Many also praised his strength. Powerful.
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