Federal jury awards Botham Jean family nearly $100 million

A federal jury has ordered former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger to pay nearly $100 million to the family of Botham Jean, whom she shot and killed in his Dallas apartment in 2018.

After a three-day trial, the jury determined Guyger used excessive force and reckless indifference when she fired at Jean — a member of the Dallas West Church of Christ and graduate of Harding University — after mistaking his apartment for her own, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Related: Guilty and forgiven

As a result, the court awarded the Jean family $98.65 million, including $38.65 million in compensatory and $60 million in punitive damages.

Guyger, who did not participate in the trial, is serving a 10-year prison sentence after she was found guilty of murder in a criminal trial in 2019. She was denied parole earlier this fall, media outlets reported.

Jean’s family members sang “Victory is Mine” outside the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in downtown Dallas after the verdict announcement.

“Today’s verdict really gives me some consolation that you saw the value of Botham,” Jean’s mother, Allison Jean, told media.

Hear Allisa Charles-Findley, Botham Jean’s sister, discuss life after his killing in Episode 38 of The Christian Chronicle Podcast.

It’s unlikely Guyger will be to be able to pay the full judgment, but it would allow funds to be taken from any future book or movie deal she receives, Fox 4 Dallas reported.

The family plans to use any money they receive from Guyger for the work of the Botham Jean Foundation, which supports children’s homes and an elderly care facility in St. Lucia, the Jeans’ home country, and provides resources for families touched by police violence and those in need of immigration guidance.

Filed under: Amber Guyger Botham Jean Dallas police Dallas West Church of Christ Harding University National News Texas Top Stories