Amber Guyger, Ex-Dallas Officer Convicted in Botham Jean’s Killing, Granted Parole
DALLAS — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has approved parole for Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murder in the 2018 killing of her neighbor Botham Jean, a case that intensified national scrutiny of race, policing and claims of self-defense.
Guyger, 38, shot and killed Jean, 26, after she entered his apartment and said she mistook it for her own. She told investigators she had just finished a long patrol shift, went to the wrong floor and believed Jean was an intruder. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The parole board approved her release on Oct. 1 after seven years of her sentence had passed. It was not immediately clear when she would leave the Patrick L. O’Daniel Unit, the women’s prison where she has been incarcerated.
Jean, who was Black, was sitting in his apartment eating ice cream on the evening of Sept. 6, 2018, prosecutors said. Guyger, who is White and lived one floor below him, came through the door and fired her police weapon, striking him in the chest. Prosecutors said she called 911 but did not render aid.
Guyger was fired from the Dallas Police Department after the shooting. Her trial drew nationwide attention and protests amid a broader wave of outrage over police shootings of Black Americans, and it became a defining case in debates over officer accountability.
A civil jury later found that Guyger used excessive force and ordered her to pay nearly $100 million to Jean’s family.
Jean’s family opposed parole. Attorney Lee Merritt said the decision undercut the meaning of accountability in a case where a life was taken without cause.
“Justice cannot be selective. When a life is taken without cause, accountability has to mean something, for everyone. Today’s decision tells grieving families it can be cut short,” Merritt said.
Guyger’s trial was also remembered for a moment after her sentencing, when Jean’s brother, Brandt Jean, hugged her in court. The gesture drew widespread attention and mixed reactions.
The parole board said in its decision that Guyger did not have a record of a pattern of violent or assaultive arrests or convictions, and that she “maintained a satisfactory institutional adjustment.”
She was sentenced in October 2019. Prosecutors had sought 28 years.
Dallas Police Department spokesperson Allison B. Hudson told USA TODAY in a statement that the department “had no role in this decision.”
“The Dallas Police Department understands this decision may bring renewed attention and emotion surrounding the tragic death of Botham Jean. Our thoughts remain with the Jean family and all those impacted by his loss,” the statement said.
The parole decision is likely to renew public debate over how the justice system handles high-profile killings by police and how soon offenders should be considered for release, particularly when victims’ families say the punishment has not matched the loss.
Contributing: Reuters