Botham Jean's Brother Hugs Amber Guyger, Forgives Her, Says Brother Would Want Her to 'Give Your Life to Christ'

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced on Wednesday to serve 10 years in prison for the fatal 2018 killing of an innocent man she shot when she mistakenly entered his apartment believing it was her own.

But in a remarkable act of kindness, the brother of the victim took the witness stand and spoke directly to Guyger, saying, "I love you like anyone else," and later hugged her in the courtroom before she was led off to prison.

[...] But Jean's 18-year-old brother, Brandt Jean, took the witness stand and spoke to Guyger, saying, "I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you."

"I love you just like anyone else and I'm not going to hope you rot and die," Brandt Jean told Guyger. "I personally want the best for you. I wasn't going to say this in front of my family, I don't even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you because I know that's exactly what Botham would want for you. Give your life to Christ. I think giving your life to Christ is the best thing Botham would want for you."

Brandt Jean then asked Kemp if he could give Guyger a hug, a request the judge granted.

He stepped off the witness stand and met Guyger in front of the judge's bench and embraced as Guyger broke into tears.

Moments later, Kemp spoke to Guyger privately and also hugged her and appeared to give her words of hope. She also handed her a Bible.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular Wisconsin-based group that routinely files lawsuits challenging religious displays in government, accused her of proselytizing from the bench.

The group filed a complaint Thursday with a Texas state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct. At the heart of the protest was Kemp giving a Bible — one of her own — to Guyger and recommending a verse. Guyger had already been sentenced, and the jury had been dismissed.

“You can have mine. I have three or four more at home,” Kemp said to Guyger. “This is your job for the next month. Right here, John 3:16.”

Guyger then rose from the defense table to embrace the black-robed judge. Kemp appeared to hesitate for a moment, then wrapped her arms around the fired police officer.

As attorneys and sheriff's deputies looked on, Kemp gently patted Guyger on the back with one hand and appeared to whisper in her ear. The two women held each other for 10 seconds. When they broke apart, a man in a suit standing near Guyger could be seen wiping away tears.

“Delivering Bibles and personally witnessing as a judge is an egregious abuse of power,” the foundation wrote in a letter to Texas officials. Kemp “transmitted her personal religious beliefs as a state official in an official proceeding of the gravest nature.”