Guyger was convicted of murder for shooting Botham Jean inside his own apartment in September 2018. She was off-duty but still in uniform.
By Karen Brooks Harper, Staff Writer
Former Dallas police Officer Amber Guyger walked free from prison Friday morning after serving seven years behind bars for the murder of Botham Jean.
Guyger, 38, shot 26-year-old Jean inside his apartment in September 2018. He had been sitting on his couch eating ice cream when Guyger, who was off-duty but still in uniform, opened the door. She said she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own and believed he was a burglar. He lived on the fourth floor; she lived on the third.
She was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019, but was granted parole earlier this month. Guyger was released after 10 a.m. from the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville. CBS reported live from the unit, but news cameras didn’t capture her release.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials said Guyger was released into community supervision.
Guyger was required to travel directly to her new residence and check in immediately with her parole officer, according to Texas parole requirements.
She was allowed to take home personal items accumulated while in prison and will either wear state-issued civilian clothes or clothes brought to her by visitors or the people picking her up. Guyger walked out with her parole papers, a temporary ID and a prepaid debit card or check for money left in her inmate trust account.
Guyger was denied parole in 2024 after the state parole board said she was not rehabilitated or ready for release.
Her request was granted this time after a review found her record showed no documented pattern of violence, that she maintained a “satisfactory institutional adjustment” and that she completed a treatment plan that “should enhance” her chances of obtaining — and keeping — a full-time job, a Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles spokesperson said in early October.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials said Guyger was released into community supervision.
Guyger was required to travel directly to her new residence and check in immediately with her parole officer, according to Texas parole requirements.
She was allowed to take home personal items accumulated while in prison and will either wear state-issued civilian clothes or clothes brought to her by visitors or the people picking her up. Guyger walked out with her parole papers, a temporary ID and a prepaid debit card or check for money left in her inmate trust account.
Guyger was denied parole in 2024 after the state parole board said she was not rehabilitated or ready for release.
Her request was granted this time after a review found her record showed no documented pattern of violence, that she maintained a “satisfactory institutional adjustment” and that she completed a treatment plan that “should enhance” her chances of obtaining — and keeping — a full-time job, a Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles spokesperson said in early October.
Staff Writer
Karen Brooks Harper is a senior writer covering Texas politics. A Mizzou Tiger with nearly 30 years in Texas journalism, she has also covered the cartel wars along the border, Congress in Mexico City, 3 presidential races, and 6 hurricanes. Raised on blues in the MS Delta, she lives in ATX with her son, her boxing gloves, and her guitar. In that order.
