The jury in the case of a former Dallas police officer who shot and killed a black man in his own apartment can consider a law that allows deadly force in defense of a home or property, the judge in the case said reportedly Monday before the jury began deliberations.

Former officer Amber Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean in his own home last year after entering his apartment, saying she mistakenly thought it was her own unit and mistook him for a burglar.

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After the defense and prosecutors rested their cases and debated jury instruction in the murder trial, Judge Tammy Kemp said jurors can consider the so-called Castle Doctrine, which allows “force (even deadly force) in the protection of a home, vehicle, or other property if someone attempts to forcibly enter or remove an individual from the premises," according to CBS News.

The laws, which function much like “stand your ground” laws that remove a shooter’s “duty to retreat” from conflict, have long been controversial but are overwhelmingly used in cases involving the defendant’s own home rather than someone else’s.

Texas's law is broader than many other such “castle” laws in that it applies to any place the defendant is legally authorized to be. In a 2012 op-ed for MySanAntonio, then-State Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R) wrote “if we are standing in our front yard, a mall, a grocery store, or any place we have a right to be legally, we are not required by law to retreat but may defend ourselves if attacked.”

Prosecutor Jason Fine pushed back on the idea that the Castle Doctrine should be part of Guyger's defense.

“This law is not in place for her. It’s in place for Bo," Fine said, according to local station Fox 4.

Fine added: "Before he can even get up he is shot dead in his own home."