Seven years after she was convicted of murdering Saint Lucian Botham Jean inside his Dallas apartment, former police officer Amber Guyger has been granted parole.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles confirmed the decision on Thursday. Guyger, now 38, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of murder on October 1, 2019.
Parole does not erase her conviction or mean her sentence is over. It allows her to be released before completing the full 10-year sentence and serve the remainder in the community under supervision and conditions set by authorities.
An official release date has not yet been announced.
The decision comes just days after Jean’s family remembered him on what would have been his birthday.
In a statement obtained by St Lucia Times, the family said they are still processing the development.
“Today, it was reported that Amber Guyger will be paroled and will serve the remainder of her sentence under supervision. The family of Botham Jean respectfully requests privacy at this time as they process this development and continue to navigate their grief.”
The Board said Guyger was approved for parole because her record did not show a pattern of violent or assaultive arrests or convictions, she had maintained satisfactory conduct while incarcerated, and she had completed programmes intended to help her reintegrate into society and find stable employment.
Jean, 26, was killed on September 6, 2018, after Guyger entered his apartment and shot him.
Guyger maintained that she had mistakenly gone to the wrong floor of their apartment building, entered Jean’s home believing it was her own and thought he was an intruder.
A jury rejected her defence and convicted her of murder.
Jean’s killing drew widespread attention in Saint Lucia and the United States, and his family has continued to keep his memory alive in the years since through the Botham Jean Foundation.
