Dallas: Murder trial of the former police cop on hold until Monday

The September 28 trial of Dallas cop Amber Guyger who shot and killed her unarmed neighbour went on for just five minutes before the court adjourned for the day only to resume its proceedings on September 30. The accused is a white who is under trial for shooting her 26-year-old neighbour Botham Jean who was a black. The victim was alone in his apartment when she entered the house through the front door. According to reports, the 31-year-old accused, again and again, apologized for shooting Jean while she spoke publicly for the first time about the occurrence of that night. The incident has sparked the racial discrimination debate once again. 

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Guyger's defense 

Before the hearing began on Saturday, an ex-police officer Craig Miller was called by the defense to be the expert witness on the short-term medical condition 'inattentional blindness'. The expert said such a term is not accepted widely in Science. He also said that based on the totality of the evidence, the accused according to him was justified in shooting the man. A day before on September 27, Guyger in her defense said that she misunderstood Jean's flat to her own which is one level down. She claimed that she parked her vehicle on another level and while counting the floor made a big error. She entered his home which was unlocked assuming it to be her flat. She saw Jean and thought somebody entered her house illegally and shot him in self-defense. “I hate that I have to live with this every single day of my life and I ask God for forgiveness, and I hate myself every single day,” Guyger told the jury. The court will have its proceeding on Monday morning again.

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Jury yet to decide the charges

The panel is yet to decide whether the accused Guyger is guilty of the killing or not. It has to make it clear whether the crime was a lesser one like manslaughter or criminal negligence or a case where she is proven not to be guilty. Her lawyers too argued that the floors of the apartments are so identical that residents get confused if they park on an incorrect floor and the possibility of entering a wrong flat is high. The prosecutors have raised questions on how the accused could miss a lot of basic signs to realise that she was in the wrong place. They even said that the victim was of no threat to Guyger as he was simply eating a bowl of ice cream in his living when she entered. 

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