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Diversity of jury seen as key factor in officer’s conviction

Diversity of jury seen as key factor in officer’s conviction
5 years 8 months 2 weeks ago Thursday, October 03 2019 Oct 3, 2019 October 03, 2019 11:21 PM October 03, 2019 in News - AP Texas Headlines

By TAMMY WEBBER
Associated Press

Experts say intense public scrutiny likely led to a racially diverse jury in the trial of the white Dallas police officer who fatally shot a black neighbor in his own apartment.

And they say that diversity may have been an important factor in Amber Guyger’s conviction and 10-year prison sentence.

The case ignited debate over race and policing. Critics questioned whether race played a factor in Guyger’s decision to use deadly force.

Alex Piquero is a criminologist at the University of Texas at Dallas. He says the trial “had a magnifying glass on it,” and jury selection was a fairer process because of that.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys, he says, likely realized there would be a huge public outcry if the jury had been mostly white.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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