A former Dallas police officer who wrongly shot a black man eating ice cream in his apartment has been denied parole.
Amber Guyger, now 35, served just five years behind bars for shooting 27-year-old Botham Jean when she mistook his apartment for her own on September 6, 2018.
The following year, she testified at trial that she found the door ajar and shot Jean, who was eating ice cream on the couch, because she thought he might be an intruder.
Guyger was ultimately found guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but applied for parole late last month – on what would have been Jean's 33rd birthday.
But after Jean's family, the Dallas County district attorney and more than 6,300 people signed an online petition protesting her release, authorities in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied her request, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Amber Guyger, now 35, was denied parole and will continue to serve time behind bars for the shooting death of Botham Jean, 27, on September 6, 2018.
An email from the department acknowledged the “criminal victimization” Jean's family faced in its decision after the shooting.
“I didn't expect such a quick response,” Allisa Charles-Findley, Jean's sister, told WFAA. “On Monday, we were interviewed by the parole commissioner – the chief commissioner.
“I feel like someone lifted a weight.”
Allison Jean, Botham's mother, also said the family was “relieved” by the news, adding that it showed “the partial responsibility he must bear for his actions.”
“My family is relieved to have gone through this process and has filed a strong petition to deny it,” he told CBS News.
“Therefore, the news that the board had considered our petition brought a sense of relief.”
The grieving mother previously said she did not feel Guyger felt remorse for the fatal shooting after her previous unsuccessful appeals, with Texas' highest criminal court upholding her sentence and the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to rehear the case in 2022.
Allison Jean then 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 a very important piece of justice for (the family) ) for the senseless deaths of their brother and son while he was unarmed and minding his own business in his own home.
Jean was eating ice cream on his couch when Guyger shot him
His mother, Allison Jean (pictured at Guyger's 2019 sentencing), stated that the family was “relieved” by the news
Jean's death sparked massive protests in Dallas, resulting in Guyger being fired from the police force.
She tried repeatedly over the years to appeal the verdict, maintaining that the mistaking Jean's apartment for her own was reasonable, as was the shooting.
Her lawyer tried to persuade the appeals court to acquit her of murder or to substitute a guilty verdict of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lesser penalty.
But Dallas County prosecutors argued that the error was not justified, that Guyger had admitted to intending to kill Jean and that “murder is a result-oriented crime.”
The court's chief judge, Robert Burns III, and judges Lana Myers and Robbie Partida-Kipness agreed with prosecutors in disagreeing that Guyger's belief that deadly force was necessary was reasonable.
In a 23-page opinion, the justices also disagreed that the evidence supported a conviction of criminally negligent homicide rather than murder, pointing to Guyger's own testimony that she intended to kill.
“The fact that she was mistaken about Jean's status as an occupant of his own apartment or a burglar in hers does not change her mental state from willful or conscious to criminal negligence,” the judges wrote.
“We do not wish to rely on Guyger's misperception of the circumstances that led to her erroneous convictions as a basis for reversing the jury's verdict in light of direct evidence supporting 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.
However, in March 2022, the court refused to hear her case, upholding the verdict, according to WFAA.
Guyger repeatedly tried to appeal her conviction, arguing that it was reasonable to confuse Jean's apartment with her own and therefore the shooting was also justified.
When she was up for parole in September, thousands of people signed an online petition urging the parole applicant 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 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 seriousness of the crime and the justice sought in the legal process.
“Allowing Amber Guyger to be released early would not only be a disservice to the memory of Botham Jean, but also to the principles of justice and accountability,” continues the petition, which had collected nearly 1,700 signatures as of Tuesday evening.
“We believe Amber Guyger should serve her full sentence, which reflects the seriousness of her actions and is intended to uphold the integrity of our justice system.
“We call on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny her request for parole and ensure that justice is complete for both Botham Jean and his family.”
Guyger will not be eligible for parole again until 2026.
