Amber Guyger, ex-Dallas police officer convicted of killing neighbor whose house she mistakenly entered, is released on parole

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been released on parole after serving seven years of a ten-year sentence for the 2018 murder of Botham Jean. The early release has drawn criticism from the victim's family, who remain frustrated by the original sentencing length.
Why it matters
The case remains a significant touchstone in national conversations regarding racial bias in policing and the application of justice for excessive force.
DALLAS — Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who fatally shot an unarmed neighbor after mistakenly entering his apartment in 2018, was released from a Texas prison on parole Friday. Guyger, 38, served seven years of the 10-year sentence handed down in October 2019 for the murder of Botham Jean, 26. She left the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville on Friday. She will spend the rest of her sentence in the community, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said. Jean’s loved ones were unhappy with Guyger’s early release but their greater sorrow stemmed from the 10-year sentence, family attorney Lee Merritt said Friday. “We were opposed to her early release because we wanted her to at least do a maximum amount of time, the full 100%,” he said. “But we realized that that was not always something that we were not guaranteed so it’s frustrating.
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