Video Courtesy of THE BEAT by Allen Parr


When the verdict came down and Botham Jean’s killer, former police officer Amber Guyger, was found guilty of murder, emotions ran high. Some expressed relief — and even surprise — that a white police officer would be held accountable for taking the life of an innocent and unarmed black man. But then the hugs happened at Guyger’s sentencing, where she received 10 years (Really? Just 10 years?). Not just the victim’s brother, Brandt Jean, a devout Christian, but the judge, too.  People are beside themselves on social media. It hasn’t been quite the same reaction as the forgiveness of the church members after the Emanuel church shooting, where most people generally embraced the idea that to forgive was divine. Many people seem genuinely angry and unable to forgive, laying bare the conflict we have as Christians and what we really stand for as a Kingdom.

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