Amber Guyger Released on Parole Seven Years After Botham Jean Murder Conviction

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was released from prison on the morning of Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, after serving seven years for the murder of Botham Jean. Guyger, 38, had been sentenced to 10 years following her conviction on Oct. 1, 2019, according to The Guardian.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved her parole, an early release under continued supervision, a little more than two weeks earlier. She will remain under supervision for the rest of her sentence. The board is appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, according to PBS.

Jean was 26 when Guyger fatally shot him inside his Dallas apartment in September 2018. Guyger testified that she had accidentally parked on the fourth floor of the apartment garage, with Jean's apartment one floor above her own. Jean was eating ice cream and watching television when Guyger entered and shot him.

Guyger was taken into custody three days after the shooting and was later dismissed from the Dallas Police Department. A Dallas County grand jury indicted her for murder, according to The Texas Tribune.

At trial, a jury found Guyger guilty of murder. She faced possible life in prison and received a 10-year term. Prosecutors had sought a minimum sentence of 28 years to represent the age Jean would have reached.

Guyger first sought parole in 2024, and the board denied that request. Her parole was approved on Oct. 1, 2026, exactly seven years after the murder verdict. The early release comes nearly three years before her 10-year sentence was set to end, according to NBC DFW.