If the trial against Amber Guyger is any indication, America still has a long way to go in achieving equality and justice for everyone.
Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean a year ago. She confused his apartment for her own, found him inside, and shot him out of fear. Botham was eating ice cream in his apartment and was unarmed. She believed that he was an intruder and that her life was in danger.
Guyger, then a Dallas police officer, is white. Jean is black. Another white cop had shot another unarmed black man.
Last week, a jury found Guyger guilty. She was sentenced to just 10 years in prison.
As a black man with North Texas roots, Botham’s tragedy hits me close to home. That could have been me.
I learned the legacy of segregation in Texas from my family, especially my mother. She had endured outdated textbooks and inadequate school facilities growing up because of Jim Crow. Her frustration and anger over discrimination lingered, but she did not surrender to rage and despair. Instead, she instilled in me her passion for justice and a desire to make the world better.
Looking back, I realize it was my mother’s faith that provided her perseverance. In her way, with God’s help, she found grace.
The same grace that allowed my mother to move on was present during the sentencing phase of Guyger’s case. Botham’s brother Brandt asked the judge if he could hug Guyger before judgment. Guyger left the defense table and embraced Brandt after he left the witness stand. He found the ability to forgive the cop who killed his brother.
Even in forgiveness, though, there must be justice. The 10-year sentence that Guyger received is a travesty. It is hardly sufficient punishment. Guyger snatched the life of an unarmed man who, according to his pastor Michael Griffin, “was the light in a dark room.” She should forfeit her freedom, just as so many young black men who have killed forfeit theirs.
Indeed, she should be held to an even higher standard. As an officer of the law, Guyger abandoned her responsibility to serve and protect the lives of every Texan.
Guyger’s 10-year sentence shortchanged minorities. People of color need protection, yet how can we trust the police when we are constantly profiled and seen as suspects. The sentence in Guyger’s case says that black lives are not as valued as white ones. It is one more betrayal of trust between the police and people of color. Based on recent incidents — think Stephon Clark and Eric Garner — African Americans are justified viewing police as an occupying force in their communities with new generations looking for ways to offer resistance.
Grace sustained my mother in the face of racism, I pray that the same grace will help me.
We all want redemption from America’s original sin of slavery. Yet such redemption must be predicated on doing better. The egregious injustice that took place in Texas reminds us that we still are not yet there.
Americans must press on until everyone, regardless of race, has equality in the courtroom and across our country. In the meantime, grace is a remarkable gift that counters the anger. Pursuing both justice and offering mercy is the only way that America can endure.
Donavan Wilson is a writer based in Washington, D.C.
