Castle doctrine: Jurors can consider this legal notion in the murder trial of Amber Guyger
CNNCNN — Jurors will be allowed to consider the so-called castle doctrine in the murder case against former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, who said she mistakenly entered the wrong apartment and killed a 26-year-old man. Amber Guyger and Botham Jean Kaufman County Jail/Facebook Shook said when self-defense is raised, prosecutors “must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant wasn’t acting in self-defense … And if they can’t do that, it’s not guilty.” “Who would not have sympathy for Botham Jean? “This law is not in place for her, it’s in place for Bo.” CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said he believes it’s a stretch for District Judge Tammy Kemp to give Guyger the benefit of the doubt under the castle doctrine as a possible defense. “The castle doctrine might give the jury an excuse to acquit officer Guyger even though she was not in her own home when she shot and killed Botham Jean,” Callan, a former homicide prosecutor, said in an email to CNN Monday night.
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