Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
Defense attorney Toby Shook spent most of his time reminding the jury that the prosecution had to prove its case "beyond a reasonable doubt" and that he believed the state had not met that threshold.
Slide shown by Amber Guyger's defense attorneys during closing arguments while discussing the burden on prosecutors.
“You’ll never see a case like this. It’s so tragic," he said, urging the jury to reach a decision rationally. “They want you to be angry and upset."
Shook said that Guyger believed she was in danger, which is why she acted the way she did.
“You have to view it from all the facts surrounding the case and under her circumstances from her viewpoint,” he said.
Shook asked jurors to remove the emotion prosecutors are trying to interject and told jurors that Guyger had a right under Texas law to self-defense.
“The state of Texas must prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt the defendant wasn’t acting in self-defense. And if they can’t do that, it’s not guilty,” he said. “Same thing on mistake of fact. If they can’t prove the defendant wasn’t operating in mistake of fact beyond a reasonable doubt, the instructions are clear: it’s a not guilty. That is the law.”
Guyger’s defense also argued she made mistakes that were not intentional. He said there were even some mistakes that others have given sworn testimony that they have also made, like parking on the wrong floor and going to the wrong apartment.
“That's 92 people who said they'd done the same thing Amber Guyger had done,” Shook said. “So when you're considering whether it's a reasonable mistake, consider that.”
Lead defense attorney Robert Rogers told jurors prosecutors did not make their case against Guyger.
“The state has failed to do their duty. We actually, even though we have no duty, we showed you how this was a reasonable mistake,” Rogers said. “The state, what did they bring you? Sexting and speculation. Everything that they have done has been to try to distract you and trick you from looking at the law in this case.”
Shook told the jury it's fine for them to not like Guyger texting her then-partner whom she was in a sexual relationship with while she was on the phone with 911. He said say they could hate her for not doing more CPR, “but you can’t convict her.”
Shook asked the jury to make their decision without worrying about how people might react to a particular verdict.
“There is tremendous public pressure in a case like this," he said.