Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer responsible for the death of 26-year-old Botham Jean, was convicted of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison by Texas’ highest criminal court on Wednesday.
She fatally shot Jean in his apartment in 2018 after mistaking it for her own and assuming he was an intruder.
The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Guyger’s plea to review a lower court’s decision upholding her 2019 conviction and sentence on March 30. Judge Kevin Yeary and Judge Michelle Slaughter submitted dissenting opinions.
The Court of Criminal Appeals is the last appellate court for Guyger, so she has exhausted all options to appeal her conviction and sentence.
Guyger will continue to serve her 10-year sentence at the Mountain View Unit in Coryell County, and she has her first chance of being released on parole in 2024.
Representing Jean’s family was Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney. He stated that the victim’s family is relieved that Guyger will serve the rest of her sentence.
On September 6, 2018, the night of Jean’s death, Guyger testified that she returned to her apartment building after her 13-hour shift.
Rather than park on the third floor, where her apartment is situated, she parked on the fourth floor. Guyger entered Jean’s apartment, believing it was hers, and fatally shot the man because she thought he was an intruder.
After the incident, the Dallas Police Department fired Guyger, and she was arrested and later charged with murder.
In honor of Jean’s death, the city dedicated a section of Lamar Street in Dallas, Botham Jean Boulevard, to the victim in March 2021.
Prime Minister Allen Chastanet — of Saint Lucia, where Jean was born — commented, “Now that he has a boulevard named after him, this is a reminder every day of what he stood for and the need to continue his journey.”
