The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles granted former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger parole on Oct. 1, seven years after her murder conviction in the killing of Botham Jean. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not announced a release date, CBS Texas reported.
What the Texas Parole Board Decided on Amber Guyger
Guyger is serving a 10-year sentence for shooting Jean in his Dallas apartment on Sept. 6, 2018, TheGrio reported. She has said she entered his unit by mistake and believed it was hers. A jury convicted her of murder on Oct. 1, 2019, CBS Texas reported, which means the board’s decision came seven years to the day after the verdict.
TheGrio did not report the board’s vote. CBS Texas reported that the board gave three reasons: her record does not show a pattern of violent or assaultive arrests or convictions, she has kept a satisfactory institutional adjustment, and she has completed programs in her treatment plan meant to help her find and keep full-time work.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice told CBS Texas that the agency does not yet have an official release date for her. Fox 26 reported that before she leaves prison she will receive the conditions of her parole and be assigned a parole officer to whom she must report. None of the three reasons the board gave concerns the 2018 shooting itself. Each describes her record before the offense or her conduct since.
Botham Jean’s Family Responds
The Jean family asked for privacy, CBS Texas reported. The family said in a statement that it is processing the decision and continuing to grieve. Lee Merritt, the family’s attorney, said the family was deeply disappointed. He told CBS Texas that “a 10-year sentence was already a fraction of what was lost.” KERA reported a separate statement from Merritt that “justice cannot be selective.” The two outlets published different Merritt statements, and each is quoted here as that outlet reported it.
The Dallas Police Department said in a statement to CBS Texas that parole decisions belong to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and are outside the department’s authority. The family has also gone to civil court. Fox 26 reported that a wrongful death suit ended in a November 2024 judgment finding Guyger liable and ordering her to pay $98.65 million to the family. In March 2026, the family sued the City of Dallas for nearly $100 million, CBS Texas reported.
Guyger’s 2024 Parole Denial and Why the Board Reviewed Her Again
The board has looked at her case before. It denied her parole on Oct. 11, 2024, after she served five years, CBS Texas reported at the time. Jean’s mother, Alison Jean, told the station then that the family felt “a sense of relief.” The 2024 report listed October 2026 as the next date she could be considered. TheGrio wrote that more than 6,000 people signed a petition against her release in 2024.
Fox 26 reported that more than 6,000 people, including Jean’s family and the Dallas County district attorney, signed an online petition against her parole request, and it did not date the petition. The timing follows from Texas law. Under section 508.145 of the Government Code, a person serving a sentence for an offense listed in Article 42A.054 of the Code of Criminal Procedure becomes eligible for parole after serving one-half of the sentence or 30 years, whichever is less.
For a 10-year sentence, one-half is five years. TheGrio wrote that Guyger became eligible in September 2024, which matches that rule.Eligibility is the point at which the board may consider release. It does not require the board to grant it. The board declined in 2024 and approved this time, two years later.
What Seven Years Served Means for Guyger’s Sentence
Seven of 10 years is 70% of the sentence. The shooting happened eight years and 25 days before the decision. The seven years counted toward her sentence run from the 2019 conviction.
The sentence has about three years left, assuming the 10-year term runs from the conviction date. Parole means that remaining time would be served under supervision outside prison, with conditions the board sets. The reports reviewed did not state the date her sentence ends or the conditions she will face.
Why the Jean Case Drew National Attention
The case drew attention because of how the shooting happened. Fox 26 reported that Guyger had finished a shift of more than 13 hours when she walked into Jean’s apartment, believing it was her own, and shot him twice, thinking he was a burglar. Jean was in his own home. Fox 26 also reported that her conviction made her the first Dallas police officer convicted of murder since 1973.
What Happens Next in the Guyger Case
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not announced a release date. Before Guyger leaves prison she will receive her parole conditions and an assigned parole officer, Fox 26 reported. The Jean family’s civil suit against the city is a separate case.
