Amber Guyger sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing neighbor Botham Jean

DALLAS (KFSM/CNN) -- A Texas jury has given former police officer Amber Guyger a 10-year murder sentence for fatally shooting Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment.

The ex-officer's defense said she mistakenly walked into the wrong apartment and opened fire because she thought Jean was an intruder.

Former Dallas policewoman Amber Guyger may be facing a lighter sentence after prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to let the jury consider whether she killed Botham Jean under the influence of “sudden passion,” a judge said Wednesday.

Jurors found Guyger, 31, guilty of murder in Jean's 2018 killing Tuesday. Witnesses, including Jean's and Guyger's family members, have been taking the stand in her sentencing hearing. While it was initially expected Guyger could face a maximum penalty of life in prison, she could now face up to 20 years in prison.

District Judge Tammy Kemp said she at first didn't understand how sudden passion applied to the case, but she “was informed yesterday afternoon that the state agreed to include sudden passion as part of the charge,” she said, with prosecutors confirming.

According to Texas law, a victim must provoke sudden passion at the time of offense, not beforehand. Guyger has said she walked into the wrong apartment and opened fire after she mistook Jean for a burglar. Jean lived on the floor directly above Guyger.