At the end of the trial, after the jury had been dismissed, Judge Kemp came down from the bench to offer her condolences to Mr. Jean\u2019s parents, as is her habit when a family has lost a loved one. \u201cI told them that they raised a remarkable son in Botham,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Next, she said, she stopped by the defense table to offer a word of encouragement to Ms. Guyger. \u201cI said to her, \u2018Ms. Guyger, Brandt Jean has forgiven you,\u2019\u201d Judge Kemp recalled, referring to Botham Jean\u2019s brother. \u201c\u2018Now please forgive yourself so that you can live a productive life when you get out of prison.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
What followed, she said, was an exchange whose equivalent she could not remember in her decades as a lawyer and her nearly five years on the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked me if I thought her life could have purpose,\u201d Judge Kemp recalled. \u201cI said, \u2018I know that it can.\u2019 She said, \u2018I don\u2019t know where to start, I don\u2019t have a Bible.\u2019\u201d Judge Kemp said she thought of the Bible in her chambers. \u201cI said, \u2018Well, hold on, I\u2019ll get you a Bible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She came back out and, together, they read John 3:16, a passage about redemption.<\/p>\n
That is when Ms. Guyger did something that caught the judge off guard: She asked for a hug.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n I spoke to Judge Tammy Kemp, who explained what was going through her mind when she gave Amber Guyger a Bible and a hug.<\/p>\n “God says my job is to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly,\u201d she told me. \u201cSo how can you refuse this woman a hug?\u201dhttps:\/\/t.co\/c4gQGYjmIk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sarah Mervosh (@smervosh) October 7, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n