The absence of a murder charge led to protests and accusations of racial bias because Jean—an unarmed black man—was killed in his own home by a white off-duty officer who had apparently disregarded police protocols.

[11] She entered the apartment and found Jean, who was sitting in his living room eating ice cream, unarmed.

[19] Botham Shem Jean, a 26-year-old Black man, was a Harding University alumnus and an accountant for PwC.

After questioning jurors, who reported that they had not seen the interview or other media coverage of the trial, Kemp denied the defense's motion for a mistrial, and sequestered the jury.

[28] The prosecutors alleged criminal intent for two reasons: firstly, they said her arrival at the wrong apartment (on the wrong floor) was not caused by tiredness, but rather caused by the conversation she had immediately prior with her lover trying to arrange a meeting that night, and secondly that she did not follow standard police protocol of not entering a building with a potential burglar inside and instead calling for backup from the police station, which was only two blocks away.

[4] During the sentencing hearing, Jean's mother Allison provided emotional testimony and some of Guyger's text messages and social media posts that were "racist and offensive" were shared.

[37][38] On August 7, 2020, Guyger's attorneys filed an appeal, alleging that insufficient evidence existed to convict her of murder.

[40][41] On November 17 of that year, the court withdrew its previous opinion, but again upheld her murder conviction using similar reasoning, stating that her defense that she had unknowingly entered the wrong apartment did not justify the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide.

[49] On January 31, 2019, ABC News reported that a female witness—identified only as "Bunny" — had taken a video of Guyger's actions immediately after the shooting.

The witness claimed to have been harassed and threatened by unidentified Internet trolls after providing the video to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office and later posting it on social media.

[56] A second suspect was arrested the next day,[57] and on December 8, all three men were indicted on charges of capital murder, although one of them remained at large.

[59][60] The family said it will donate any damages they receive to the Botham Jean Foundation, potentially including the proceeds from any film or book deals made by Guyger.

[61] Texas House Bill 929, known as the Botham Jean Act, mandates that the police are required to keep their body cameras on for the duration of their active participation in an investigation.

[62] The 2020 short film Two Distant Strangers included Jean's name in a list of Black Americans killed whilst interacting with police throughout the United States.

The film highlights this issue, with a Black American stuck in a time loop where he is repeatedly and variously killed by a police officer.