A former Dallas police officer who was convicted of killing a Black man after she mistook his apartment for her own six years ago is now eligible for parole.
Amber Guyger was still in uniform when she walked up to Botham Jean’s apartment — which was on the fourth floor, directly above hers on the third — and found the door unlocked.
Jean, an accountant from the Caribbean island nation of St. Lucia, had been eating a bowl of ice cream when Guyger entered his home and fatally shot him. He was unarmed.
Guyger was found guilty in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
On Sunday, on what would have been Jean’s 33rd birthday, Guyger qualified for parole having served five years of her sentence, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Botham’s mother, Allison Jean, believes Guyger should serve her entire prison sentence.
“She’s caused my family tremendous, tremendous hurt, tremendous pain. She ought to remain where she is,” Jean said.
“She needs to serve her entire 10-year term, which is well below a sentence that one receives for murder. Murder of an innocent man in the comfort of his home, doing nothing wrong.”
The September 2018 shooting sparked protests around the city.
At the time, Guyger told authorities she confused Botham’s apartment for her own. Even though she had a body camera on at the time, it was not recording, because she was off duty.
In 2019, Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She appealed the conviction but lost her appeal two years ago.
Former parole officer and University of Texas Arlington professor Zerita Hall explained to CBS News what happens when she goes before the parole board.
“There’s a panel of people, they’ll ask her questions about how she has changed and what she thinks about all these things,” Hall said, adding that there’s a chance that Guyger may not appear in person.
Hall said letters from Botham’s family would be considered during the hearing.
“This man was murdered,” Hall said. “He was killed in his own home. So I would imagine letters of support for her staying in prison would probably be pouring in.”
