A Tragedy and a Witness

By: Deji Yesufu

Amber Guyer was a police officer with the Dallas Police Department. On September 6, 2018, she had concluded work late into the night as usual and headed home. She took the lift that leads to the floor of her home in the high rising building she lives in and was already contemplating a good night rest, when she noticed something unusual. The door to her apartment was wide open. Someone was in her house watching a game of football with the sound of the television tuned almost to the highest volume. Sensing an invasion by a burglar, Guyer removes her gun from its strap and walks quietly to the door. She sees an African American man seated on her couch, watching a game on TV and drinking ice-cream. Out of panic, she call out: “who are you and what are you doing in my house…” The man turns to her and before he could utter a word, Guyer had shot him in the chest. The bullet tore through his heart and he was killed immediately. Guyer walks closer to the thief and it was at this point she realized that she was actually not in her own apartment. Guyer had taken the lift to the house that was just above hers in the building. Guyer had killed an innocent man in his own home. Immediately, she called 911 to explain the tragedy. The operator, while testifying at the court, said that Guyer had mentioned that she was in the wrong apartment no less than 91 times during that call. The man that was killed was Botham Jean, a 26 year old accountant.

On October 1, 2019, Amber Guyer was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for the murder of Botham Jean. In the case that was brought against her, prosecutors sought to prove that Guyer killed Botham in a premeditated fashion. Guyer’s defense chose to show that the killing was clearly a mistake. A jury that listened to the case agreed with the prosecution and convicted Guyer for murder, but the Judge chose to give her a lesser sentencing because the defense were able to show that the killing was not premeditated and that Guyer had no history of such violence. The Dallas Police Department had fired Guyer for excessive use of force and in response to the outcry against the killing of another black man by the black community in the United States. But the high point of this case was the testimony that Botham Jean’s brother, Brandt, gave after Guyer had been convicted. Here are Brandt’s words:

“If you truly are sorry… I forgive you, and I know that if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you… I’m speaking for myself – but I love you just like anyone else. And I am not gonna say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did, but I presently want the best for you… 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 you to do. And the best would be to give your life to Christ…”

After saying this, Brandt turns to the judge and request if he could hug Guyer. The Judge gave him permission and the two of them ran into each other’s arms and hugged for close to two minutes. Brandt can be seen saying some comforting words into the ears of Guyer, while she wept profusely. Ironically, the Judge would also give Guyer a copy of the Bible, indicating that it would help her find peace as she does time in prison. Guyer is eligible for parole in five years.

I have chosen to title this piece “a tragedy and a witness” not because I am convinced that Guyer did not kill Botham in a premeditated fashion, but because of the opportunity for the gospel to be heard in the whole case. This case had attracted the attention of the whole world; particularly a liberal and godless America. And when Guyer was sentenced and a member of the deceased family was given an opportunity to speak, very few people expected what would follow will be a testimony of God’s grace in forgiving sinners. If Brandt had wished the worst for Guyer and prayed that she also meets the same gruesome end that had befallen his brother, no one would fault him. But rather, in an unprepared speech, and still reeling from the tragedy of losing a brother, Brandt forgives Guyer and takes the step to even comfort her in the prospect of her facing time in prison. Brandt was convinced that Botham would have wished he does that. Clearly Brandt and Botham are Christians.

When I read this story, I could not but marvel at the Christian witness that exhumed from it all. America, for some years now, has been troubled by the crisis of white law enforcement officers killing young black men and this was clearly an opportunity for them to draw blood from the whole situation. Unfortunately for those who wished this, Brandt Jean did not give them this pleasure. Rather, what we witnessed was Christian forgiveness and prime time news outlets having no choice but publishing to the world a witness to the power of forgiveness in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If anyone is in doubt as regarding why Jesus Christ died, they should look no further than the story of the tragic death of Botham Jean. There remains a place where the innocent lays down his life so that sinners may find forgiveness with a just God. Men and women who have experienced the grace of forgiveness do not rate sin anymore. There is not one sin greater than another; all sins are equally offensive to God and all of them merit his eternal displeasure. Thus having been forgiven much, we can forgive others. Brandt forgiving Amber Guyer is a manifestation of the grace of God. It is a picture of a person relishing the grace of God and being able to extend it to others. This story also gives much opportunity for the gospel of Christ to be proclaimed to a liberal and godless world.

The three minutes testimony of the power of God to forgive sinners, that was delivered by Brandt Jean in a US court which had convicted Amber Guyer of murder, maybe the reason why Botham Jean was killed in the first place. With this incidence, the gospel has been proclaimed and God may give one or more persons who hear this message grace to believe in Jesus Christ. If this happens, Botham Jean would not have died in vain.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the books Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: http://mouthpiece.com.ng/a-tragedy-and-a-witness/