A former Dallas police officer who mistakenly shot and killed 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 and killing Botham Jean, 27, when she mistook his apartment for hers on September 6, 2018.
The following year, he testified at his trial that he found the door ajar and shot Jean, who had just been eating ice cream on his couch, because he thought he might be an intruder.
Guyger was ultimately convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was paroled 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 others signed an online petition protesting her release, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied her request. reports the Dallas Morning News.
Amber Guyger, now 35, has been denied parole and will continue serving time behind bars for the September 6, 2018 shooting of Botham Jean, 27.
In its decision, an email from the department acknowledged the “criminal victimization” Jean’s family faced after the shooting.
“I wasn’t expecting such a quick response,” said Allisa Charles-Findley, Jean’s sister. he told WFAA. ‘On Monday we were interviewed by the probation commissioner, the chief commissioner.
“It feels like a burden has been lifted from us.”
Allison Jean, Botham’s mother, also said the family “feels a sense of relief” at the news, adding that it shows “some of the responsibility she should have for her actions.”
“My family is relieved to have gone through the process and filed a strong motion for denial,” she said. he told CBS News.
“So the news that the board considered our request is a sense of relief.”
The grieving mother has previously said she does not feel Guyger felt remorse for the fatal shooting after her previous failed appeals, with Texas’ highest criminal court upholding her conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court declining to review the case in 2022. .
Allison Jean went on to thank 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 component of justice for (the family) for the senseless death of his 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 and killed him.
His mother, Allison Jean (pictured at Guyger’s sentencing in 2019), said the family “feels a sense of relief” at the news.
Jean’s death sparked massive protests throughout Dallas, and Guyger was subsequently fired from the police department.
For years, he has repeatedly tried to appeal his conviction, arguing that mistaking Jean’s apartment for his was reasonable, and therefore so was the shooting.
Her lawyer sought to have the appeals court acquit her of the murder charge or substitute a conviction for criminally negligent homicide, which carries a lesser penalty.
But Dallas County prosecutors argued that the mistake was unreasonable, that Guyger acknowledged intending to kill Jean and that “murder is a results-oriented crime.”
Chief Justice Robert Burns III and Judges Lana Myers and Robbie Partida-Kipness agreed with prosecutors and disagreed 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 for criminally negligent homicide rather than murder, pointing to Guyger’s own testimony that he intended to kill.
“The fact that he was mistaken as to Jean’s status as a resident in his own apartment or as a burglar in hers does not change his state of mind from intentional or conscious to criminally negligent,” the judges wrote.
“We refuse to rely on Guyger’s misperception of the circumstances that led to his erroneous beliefs as a basis for reshaping the jury’s verdict in light of direct evidence of his 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 ruling.
But the court refused to hear his case in March 2022 and upheld his sentence. according to WFAA.
Guyger has repeatedly attempted to appeal his conviction, arguing that mistaking Jean’s apartment for his was reasonable and therefore so was the shooting.
As he faced parole in September, thousands of people signed an online petition urging parole to deny his 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 seriousness of the crime and the justice sought through the legal process.
“Allowing the early release of Amber Guyger 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 has garnered nearly 1,700 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. .
‘We believe Amber Guyger should serve her full sentence as a reflection of the seriousness of her actions and to uphold the integrity of our justice system.
“We urge the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny his request for parole and ensure that full justice is served for Botham Jean and his family.”
Guyger will now not be eligible for parole again until 2026.