Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murdering a man in his own apartment in 2018, became eligible for parole Sunday after serving half of a 10-year sentence.
Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean on Sept. 6, 2018, after entering his Dallas apartment.
Guyger, who is white, told authorities that she had entered Jean’s apartment by mistake, thinking it was her own, and that her actions were justified under the assumption that she had to defend herself. She did not have her body camera turned on because she was off duty, she said.
Jean’s killing sparked outrage and protests in Dallas, and garnered national attention amid ongoing controversies and conversations about police killings of Black men.
She was convicted of Jean’s murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2019. An appeals court upheld that conviction in 2022.
It is unclear when the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will decide whether to let Guyger out of prison five years early. Calls to the Parole Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice were not answered Sunday.