This judge came under fire for a hug and a Bible. Now Tammy Kemp defends her actions in the Amber Guyger trial
Tammy Kemp knew she’d feel the glare of the national spotlight when she presided over the Amber Guyger trial.
What she didn’t expect was the backlash that followed.
It’s been six days since Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing her unarmed black neighbor Botham Jean.
And it’s been six days since Kemp, an African-American judge, came under fire for giving Guyger a hug and a Bible following the sentencing.
“I think people are taken aback that I would reach out to Amber Guyger because the act that she committed was so horrific, and the victim was such a good person,” Kemp told CNN in an interview Tuesday.
“But I try to look beyond the horrific act, and see the person behind it, realizing that that person would rejoin our society … It’s my hope that she’ll become a productive member of society.”
Shock over the Bible exchange
Observers in the courtroom heard what the judge told Guyger as she handed the murderer her Bible.
“This is the one I use every day,” Kemp told Guyger.
“This is your job for the next month. It says right here. John 3:16. And this is where you start: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life …’ “
Critics say Kemp violated the US Constitution’s separation of church and state.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a complaint against the judge and has asked for the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct to investigate.
The foundation said Kemp’s “proselytizing actions overstepped judicial authority.”
The victim’s brother hugged the murderer, too
Kemp wasn’t the only person in the courtroom to surprise Guyger with a hug.
Jean’s brother Brandt testified that he forgave the former officer and asked the judge if he could hug Guyger.
The two embraced in the courtroom in a powerful moment.
Brandt Jean’s testimony, forgiveness and hug for his brother’s killer changed the mood of the room, said attorney S. Lee Merritt, who represents the Jean family.
And that act of kindness may have affected the judge, he said.
“I think it had everything to do with (the judge) being a human in that moment,” Merritt said.
“This young man (Brandt Jean) had shown amazing strength of character in extending love and forgiveness to Amber Guyger. I think (Kemp) got caught up in the moment.”
Jean’s mother, Allison, said Brandt Jean’s forgiveness was emblematic of the life Botham led.
“When I saw Brandt up there and what he was saying, I really felt Botham’s presence in the room,” she said.
A foundation has been established in Botham’s name to support issues he cared about, his mother said, such as police brutality, gun control and racial unity.
