Amber Guyger more likely to draw white, conservative jury if trial for killing Botham Jean is moved

If Amber Guyger's attorneys get their wish to move the fired Dallas police officer's murder trial to another county, her jury figures to be whiter and more conservative, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News.

Defense attorneys filed a motion last week saying Guyger can't get a fair trial in Dallas because of all the publicity after she shot 26-year-old Botham Jean in his apartment.

But the populations of the six counties that her attorneys suggest as alternatives are less diverse and more suburban and rural.

That shift could affect the outcome of the trial and make a jury less likely to convict Guyger, said Patrick Bayer, a Duke economics professor who has studied links between the racial makeup of juries and trial outcomes. He found that less diversity in the jury room does a disservice to justice.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/07/14/moving-amber-guygers-trial-shooting-botham-jean-means-jurors-likely-white-conservative