Texas state representative Carl Sherman said Sunday that he will introduce the “Botham Jean Act” to clarify the state’s “castle doctrine.” Sunday marked the two-year anniversary of the death of Botham Jean, who was shot in his home by an off-duty police officer.
The proposed bill will “codify and strengthen existing
criminal justice laws to address the use of excessive and deadly force by those
who are sworn to protect and serve all Americans.” The act would do so
by adding “duty to retreat” language to the state’s castle doctrine
legislation and would require police officers to keep their body cameras on
during interactions with the public and subsequent investigations. At the press
conference, Senator Royce West said that the proposed act would “add a penalty
for anyone who ended a police body camera or dash camera recording during an
investigation under most circumstances.”
Jean was fatally shot by off-duty white police
officer Amber Guyger inside his home when she mistook his apartment for her
own. During the murder trial, Guyger sought to claim the castle doctrine and
mistake of fact as a defense. She was convicted with murder and is serving a 10
year sentence.
According to Sherman, the act will increase
accountability among police officers and will clarify the castle doctrine, to
remove the potential to argue that the doctrine applies to justify a killing
because the person believed they were in their own home. The Texas Castle Doctrine currently sets out that a person
is “justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor
reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate
the other’s trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property.”
West stated, “Bo’s Law takes the position that
continuous recording of events is critical context and evidentiary purposes,”
and that “the bill Sherman proposes will address the topics of privacy, what
constitutes a private space, and when and under what circumstances a body
camera can or should be turned off.”
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