Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was arrested on a manslaughter charge Sunday in the shooting death of Botham Jean.
Police have said that Guyger shot Jean, 26, at his South Side Flats apartment after mistaking the unit for her own. Texas Rangers coordinated with the Dallas County District Attorney's office to obtain the warrant for Guyger's arrest, officials said, but the warrant had not yet been released.
While details about why Guyger was charged with manslaughter, specifically, have not been revealed, here's a breakdown of what a manslaughter charge means in Texas:
• A criminal homicide is charged as manslaughter when a person "recklessly causes the death of another individual," according to the Texas penal code. The charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. A prosecutor does not have to prove intent or premeditation to earn a manslaughter conviction.
• Manslaughter is a lesser charge than murder, which is a first-degree felony. According to the penal code, murder is committed when a person "intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual," or "intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits and act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual."
• Manslaughter is a stiffer charge than criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony that is committed when a person "causes the death of an individual by criminal negligence," according to the penal code.
