Amber Renee Guyger is denied parole six years after she wrongly shot and killed black man eating ice cream in his apartment

The former female Dallas cop was convicted for wrongfully shooting and killing a black man eating ice cream in his apartment

Amber Guyger, now 35, has served just five years behind bars for shooting and killing Botham Jean, 26, on September 6, 2018

Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean as he sat on his couch watching TV and eating ice cream on September 6, 2018

Guyger’s claimed she thought he was an intruder in her own apartment, which was a floor above Jean’s.His door was also ajar

Now Serving a 10 year sentence after being convicted of murder in 2019, she was up for parole late last month

However, after Jean’s family, the Dallas County District Attorney and more than 6,300 people signed an online petition protesting her release, the Texas Dept of Criminal Justice denied her request*

Amber Renee Guyger, now 35, has been denied parole and will continue to serve time behind bars for the September 6, 2018 shooting of Botham Jean, 26, six years ago. She will likely serve the full 10 year sentence

A white female officer with the Dallas Police Department who was convicted for the wrongful murder of a black neighbor six years ago after she walked into the victim’s apartment uninvited, has been denied parole.
Amber Renee Guyger was up for parole after serving half of the decade-long sentence. She has since tried to get her murder conviction overturned, repeatedly appealing her conviction on the grounds that that was the shooting her black neighbor was a mistake, a reasonable mistake.
However, thousand petitioned against her request, demanding the parole board deny her request because, her early release would not only be a disservice to ‘victim’s memory, but also to the principles of justice and accountability’.

Guyger shot and killed accounting student Botham Jean as he sat on his couch watching TV and eating ice cream on September 6, 2018. Guyger’s claimed she believed he was an intruder in her own apartment, which was a floor above Jean’s

Guyger, now 35, has served just five years behind bars for shooting and killing Botham Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from St. Lucia,, when she claimed she mistook his apartment for her own on September 6, 2018 – her apartment was a floor above Jean’s in the same complex.
She testified at her trial the following year that she found the door ajar, and shot Jean, who had just been eating ice cream on his couch with his television set on, because she thought he may be an intruder.
However neighbors who lived down the hall from Jean undercut her narrative, testifying that seconds before officer Guyger shot her neighbor Botham Jean, they heard a woman in the hallway banging on the door that was supposedly ajar shouting: ‘Let me in, let me in.’
After she fired the shots witnesses heard a male voice, not asking who she was, instead demanding ‘why did you do that?’
Neighbors also pointed out that the victim not only lived on another floor from the shooter, but his front door had a distinct look that differed from the generic look of other apartment entrance doors in the complex.
With the myriad inconsistencies in the narrative, Guyger ultimately, was found guilty of murder in 2019, The former cop was sentenced to serve a decade in prison, but was up for parole late last month – on what would have been Jean’s 33rd birthday.
However, after Jean’s family, the Dallas County District Attorney and more than 6,300 people signed an online petition protesting her release, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied her request.

Guyger who was fired from Dallas PD in the aftermath has repeatedly tried to appeal her conviction. Her lawyer unsuccessfully tried to get the appeals court to acquit her of murder or substitute instead a conviction for criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lesser sentence.

An email from the department acknowledged the ‘criminal victimization’ that Jean’s family faced in the aftermath of the shooting in its decision. 
‘I wasn’t expecting a response so quickly,’ Allisa Charles-Findley, Jean’s sister said. 
‘We were interviewed on Monday by the parole commissioner – the lead commissioner.
‘It feels like a load lifted.’ 
Allison Jean, Botham’s mother, also said the family ‘feels a sense of relief’ by the news, adding that it shows ‘part of the accountability that she must have for her actions.’
Having previously said that she did not sense that Guyger felt remorse for the fatal shooting in the light of the killer’s failed appeals, that culminated with Texas’ highest criminal court upholding her conviction and the US Supreme court declining to review the case in 2022.
Reacting to the parole denial she said, ‘My family feels a sense of relief having gone through the process and made a strong petition for denial.’
‘So the news coming in that the board considered our petition is a sense of relief.’ 
The bereaved mother thanked everyone who sent emails and letters to the parole board opposing Guyger’s release, and in a statement from Jean’s family, provided by attorney Allisa Charles-Findley said: ‘This is one very important component of justice for [the family] for the senseless death of their brother and son while he was unarmed and minding his own business in his own home.’

The victim’s mother, Allison Jean, [photo], said the family ‘feels a sense of relief’ by the news that the her son’s killer will make the full restitution as stipulated in the sentence

Jean’s death sparked massive protests across Dallas, and Guyger was fired from the police department in the aftermath. She since, repeatedly, tried tried to appeal her conviction, claiming that her mistaking Jean’s apartment for her own was reasonable therefore, as was the shooting.
Her attorney’s did not succeed in getting the appeals court to acquit her of murder or substitute charge in the conviction to criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lesser sentence.
On appeal the Dallas County prosecutors argued that the error was not reasonable, that Guyger acknowledged intending to kill Jean and that ‘murder is a result-oriented offense.’
The court’s chief justice, Robert Burns III, and Justices Lana Myers and Robbie Partida-Kipness concurred with prosecutors, disagreeing that Guyger’s belief that deadly force was needed was reasonable.

Dallas police officer Amber Guyger becomes emotional as she testifies in her murder trial in 2019. She was convicted and handed a 10-year prison sentence

In a 23-page opinion, the justices also disagreed that evidence supported a conviction of criminally negligent homicide rather than murder, pointing to Guyger’s own testimony that she intended to kill.
‘That she was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from intentional or knowing to criminally negligent,’ the judges wrote. 
‘We decline to rely on Guyger’s mis-perception of the circumstances leading to her mistaken beliefs as a basis to reform the jury’s verdict in light of the direct evidence of her intent to kill.’
Guyger then asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals – the state’s highest forum for criminal cases – to review the appeals court’s ruling.
But the court declined to hear her case in March 2022, upholding her sentence.
In a 23-page opinion, the justices also disagreed that evidence supported a conviction of criminally negligent homicide rather than murder, pointing to Guyger’s own testimony that she intended to kill.
‘That she was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from intentional or knowing to criminally negligent,’ the judges wrote. 
‘We decline to rely on Guyger’s mis-perception of the circumstances leading to her mistaken beliefs as a basis to reform the jury’s verdict in light of the direct evidence of her intent to kill.’
Guyger then asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals – the state’s highest forum for criminal cases – to review the appeals court’s ruling.
But the court declined to hear her case in March 2022, upholding her sentence.

Guyger [photo], repeatedly appealed her conviction claiming mistaking Jean’s apt for her own was reasonable, as was the shooting. Petitioners demanded the parole board deny her request because, ‘Guyger released early would not only be a disservice to Botham Jean’s memory, but to the principles of justice and accountability,’ as well

As she faced parole in September, thousands signed an online petition urging the parole to deny her request.
‘Amber Guyger was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison,’ the petition said.
‘This sentence was intended to serve as a measure of justice for Botham Jean and his family, and as a statement that such actions will not be tolerated.
‘Granting parole at this time would undermine the severity of the crime and the justice that was sought through the legal process.
‘Allowing Amber Guyger to be released early would not only be a disservice to Botham Jean’s memory, but also to the principles of justice and accountability,’ the petition, which has garnered nearly 1,700 signatures as of Tuesday evening, continues.
‘We believe that Amber Guyger should serve her full sentence as a reflection of the gravity of her actions and to uphold the integrity of our justice system.
‘We urge the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny her parole request and ensure that justice is fully served for Botham Jean and his family.’ 
Guyger now won’t be eligible for parole again until 2026.