Botham Jean organized church mission trips. He installed Skype for elderly parents who missed ir kids. One time he met a stranger who shared his mom’s birthday, so bighearted 6-foot-1 choir singer got woman a cake. He cried after getting a job in Dallas at powerhouse accounting firm PwC. His eyes were set on senior manment when his downstairs neighbor, a white Dallas police officer, entered his apartment, drew her gun and fatally shot him.

Jean “was a near-perfect person of color,” said Ben Crump, a lawyer for Jean family. “A 26-year-old college-educated black man, certified public accountant, working for one of big three accounting firms in world ... it shouldn’t take all of that for unarmed black and brown people in America to get justice.”

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Court scenes during conviction of Amber Guyger

jury that convicted Amber Guyger of murder sentenced her on October 2 to 10 years in prison. 31-year-old former police officer, who says she believed she was in her own apartment and mistook Jean for an intruder, h faced up to life in prison for September 2018 killing. sentence was met with boos and jeers by a crowd gared outside courtroom. But Brandt Jean, 18, told Guyger his bror would have wanted her to turn her life to Christ before getting permission to hug Guyger in an unusual and emotionally intense courtroom scene. It unfolded just a day after Jean’s family and activists in Dallas _ a diverse city where mayor, police chief, and district attorney are all black _ rejoiced over guilty verdict, calling it a hopeful sign of turning tides on police accountability in deaths of unarmed black men. Jean’s mor, Allison Jean, said Wednesday sentence was a dece for Guyger to change her life. n she ripped into Dallas and what she characterized as police corruption and incompetence.

“If Amber Guyger was trained to t shoot in heart, my son would be standing here today,” she said.

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Jean's family speaks about ir lost son

In his native Caribbean island country of St. Lucia, Jean won trophies for acemic excellence, started a choir and organized school clubs. He confided to an uncle that he aspired to become prime minister of mostly black population of about 180,000 people. Allison Jean has said her son, middle child in her family, was socially conscious and mindful about being black in America after leaving island to attend Harding University in Arkansas. She told New York Times last year that he drove speed limit and kept his car in good repair. When she asked why he wore such dressy clos, according to newspaper, Jean told her he didn’t want police to stop him and think he was somebody he wasn’t. Who Jean really was, attorneys told mostly black and Hispanic jury, was a literal choirboy. deeply religious young man spent Sundays on phone with his far critiquing sermons and writing his own. His mom fretted about affording college in America. St. Lucia’s currency is weak against U.S. dollar. But Jean — who also went by “Bo” — was determined to attend a Christian campus where he could sing.

“It was almost his aura. When he went to a meeting or he joined your group or whatever it was, you knew Bo. He was just a big personality, nice person, big smile,” said Kerry Ray, Jean’s boss at PwC. “Never really h a b thing to say about anybody.”

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Mirities and family stand for Jean's spotless character

Crump said spotless character shouldn’t be required for mirities in U.S. to get justice. Even Jean’s family and activists h been on guard for character attacks, at one point fuming that a smear campaign was afoot after police revealed early in investigation that marijuana h been found in Jean’s apartment. Guyger’s attorneys did t make an issue of Jean’s marijuana use, and it came out during trial that Guyger herself mitted to having used pot when she applied for a job with Dallas police. Jean’s sister, Allisa Findley, told jurors her bror used marijuana after t liking how he felt on derall, which he was prescribed for attention hyperactivity disorder. She said Jean was excited about his life. She wanted her baby bror to move closer to her in New York, but he told her he still h career plans in Dallas. ir last conversation was night he died. Jean was about to turn 27 and h just two cooking pans in his apartment. He wanted Drake concert tickets for his birthday, but Findley was bent on a more practical gift.

“I told him, ‘I thought we agreed you were going to be a grown-up this year?’” Findley recalled. “He said, ‘OK, fine. Get me pots and pans.’”

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