Amber Guyger Murder Trial: Judge Rules Jury Can Use Controversial "Castle Doctrine" Law

Source: ABC News

A Dallas judge ruled that the jury presiding over former officer Amber Guyger's trial may consider the Castle Doctrine, a ruling similar to Stand Your Ground laws.

In the seventh day of former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger's trial, Judge Tammy Kemp has ruled that the jury can consider the "Castle Doctrine," which allows a person to use "force (even deadly force) in the protection of a home, vehicle, or other property if someone attempts to forcibly enter or remove an individual from the premises."

It's a controversial ruling: Guyger was not in her own home. She was inside the home of her upstairs neighbor Botham Jean. Guyger claims she mistook her neighbor's apartment for her own and shot Jean thinking he was an intruder.

READ: Dallas Grand Jury To Hear Case Against Cop Who Killed Botham Jean In His Own Apartment

The ruling occurred during a heated discussion about the verbiage Judge Kemp was to use when providing instructions to the jury.

READ: A Manipulation Of Black Innocence: Botham Jean & How Black People Are Wrong Even When They're Not

The Castle Doctrine is similar to the controversial Stand Your Ground Law. The law allows a person to use “force (even deadly force) in the protection of a home, vehicle, or other property if someone attempts to forcibly enter or remove an individual from the premises."

The judge also ruled that jurors may consider manslaughter charges during sentencing.

SOURCE: CBS Dallas-Fort Worth