Reaction Paper: Amber Guyger Affidavit

The offense that best fits the crime of Amber Guyger is murder. All the evidence shows that Guyger had the intention of killing Botham Jean. Murder crime can be caused with different things including 'adequate cause' meaning that the cause may result in a degree of rage, resentment, terror, or ordinary temper ('Texas Penal Code - PENAL 19.02'). Murder. The other cause is sudden passion which is caused with arise of provocation by the person killed or another individual acting with the person killed, and the passion arises during the offense and is not usually as a result of former provocation. Therefore, the events in the affidavit can make one assume that Betham Jean had provoked Guyger that made her shoot him.

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Murder is committed when an individual knowingly or intentionally causes the death of another person. Another way in which the crime can take place is when one intends to cause significant bodily injury or commits an act that is dangerous to the human life which causes the death of a person ('Texas Penal Code - PENAL 19.02'). The last way in which the offense may be committed is when an individual attempts or commits a felony, besides manslaughter and in the advancement of the effort or commission, he or she attempts or commits an act dangerous to the human life which causes death.

Guyger shot Botham Jean on the torso. Thus, there is no way she can be charged with manslaughter since the shooting resulted in the death of complainant. The Texas penal code- PENAL 19.04 Manslaughter says "a person commits an offense if he recklessly causes the death of an individual." However, an individual can act recklessly by deliberately disregarding an unjustifiable or substantial risk which circumstances exist or instead the results will take place. Thus, Guyger should be charged with murder because the act of shooting Betham Shem Jean was not reckless. The affidavit shows that in Guyger's mind it was intentional and she had planned it well as the case is regarded as a deviation from the norms.

From the past cases in Dallas County, suspects of similar situations have been charged with murder. Furthermore, a homicide does result in a murder charge when an individual knowingly or intentionally causes the death of a person and has the intentions of causing severe injury and conducts an act that is dangerous to human life. It is also unclear if going to the wrong house is regarded as reckless as the term reckless is only applied to the firing of weapons. Additionally, from the information in the affidavit, Guyger did not act recklessly since she is saying that the door opened, she saw a figure, and thought that a bugler was in her house. Consequently, there is nothing that is reckless over pulling the trigger as she intended to pull it. If she found a harmless individual in her house, it did not mean that the person was a bugler and had the intentions of causing harm to her making her pull off the trigger.

Conclusion

Guyger should be charged with murder instead of manslaughter because she did not have any justification like usage of a deadly force in defending herself. She did not also have a deadly force in preventing other imminent commission of a robbery, arson, aggravated robbery, theft, or burglary at night or even criminal mischief at night. Although Guyger might have been provoked with the bugler, the circumstances were not very extreme to cause a reasonable individual to lose control. It is hence long overdue for the members of Congress and US senators to push for a review of the reforms on how and when the law enforcement officers should use force.

References

Texas Penal Code - PENAL 19.02. Murder.

Texas Penal Code - PENAL 19.04. Manslaughter.