Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, has been released on parole after spending seven years in prison for the 2018 killing of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old accountant from Saint Lucia.
On October 1, 2026, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved Guyger's release. She will serve the remainder of her 10-year sentence under parole supervision.
The incident occurred on September 6, 2018, when Guyger, who was off duty, entered the wrong unit at her apartment complex. She went to the fourth floor instead of the third, where she lived, and made her way into Jean's home. When she found Jean inside, she fired her service weapon at him. Guyger testified that she believed she was in her own apartment and thought Jean was an intruder.
A Dallas County jury found Guyger guilty of murder on October 1, 2019, and she received a 10-year prison term the next day. Prosecutors had sought a lengthier sentence. An appeals court later upheld her conviction.
Guyger became eligible for parole in 2024, but the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied that request and set the next hearing for October 2026. When the board approved her release this time, it cited her clean record regarding violent and assault-related offences, her behaviour while imprisoned, and her involvement in rehabilitation and job-training initiatives.
Jean's family and their lawyer Lee Merrit opposed the parole decision and expressed their dissatisfaction. A separate federal civil case in 2024 resulted in a jury awarding Jean's family approximately US$100 million.
Jean grew up in Saint Lucia before relocating to the United States for university at Harding University in Arkansas. He worked as an accountant in Dallas. His connection to Saint Lucia has made the case particularly resonant within Caribbean communities and among Saint Lucian expatriates.
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