Guyger is found GUILTY in Botham Jean Murder Trial

Almost one year ago, in September 2018, an off-duty police officer walked into the wrong apartment and shot down 26-year old Botham Jean.

In light of recent years, this case stood out because it was, yet again, another unarmed black man shot down by a white cop. However, this story was a little different given the location and situation.

For years, the media has been outraged at countless mindless situations like this and protests with hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter and its demeaning counter hashtag #AllLivesMatter. In most past cases, like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and countless others, their murderer was not convicted of any crime, and most times was set free with little to no punishment.

This time around, for many, finally felt like a small victory. Rachel Guyger, the off-duty police officer, was sentenced to a small sentence of 10-years in prison, in comparison to the rest of a young man’s positive future.

Aside from Guyger being found guilty, it was a huge deal that the media used a mugshot of Guyger while using a professional headshot of Botham Jean.

Regularly, in cases like these, the media has used photographs of the criminal smiling and enjoying time with family or friends, and a photograph of the person they murdered being portrayed as a thug or someone who is a menace to society.

For many members of the African American community, this was a small success in a much larger issue of injustice in America.

Is this small victory a step in the right direction? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

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