Secular Groups Claim Judge Crossed A Line By Giving Amber Guyger Her Bible

A secular advocacy organization has accused a Dallas judge of violating the separation of church and state by proselytizing to a convicted murderer in the courtroom during the final moments of a high-profile case.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) said Thursday that Judge Tammy Kemp crossed an ethical line by sharing a Bible and Christian teachings about sin and salvation with Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in jail for the September 2018 shooting and killing of unarmed Black man Botham Shem Jean.

Guyger, who is white, shot Jean in his own apartment, which she claimed she mistook for her own.

Courtroom video shows the 204th District Court judge approaching Guyger with a Bible, which she says is her own. At that point, Guyger had already been sentenced, and the jury had been dismissed, The Associated Press reports.

In the video, the judge, still dressed in her official robes, is seen opening the Bible and pointing to a verse.

This is your job for the next month. Right here, Kemp can be heard saying in the video. John: 3:16. And this is where you start.

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