“That she was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from intentional or knowing to [be] criminally negligent,” the judges wrote. “We decline to rely on Guyger’s misperception of the circumstances leading to her mistaken beliefs as a basis to reform the jury’s verdict in light of the direct evidence of her intent to kill.”
Defense attorneys could still ask the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest forum for criminal cases, to review the appeals court’s ruling.
