White female cop convicted of shooting black neighbor dead after mistaking his apartment for her own is freed from prison after seven years

A white female Texas cop convicted of shooting her black neighbor dead has been freed from prison after seven years. Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, was granted parole on Thursday after being sentenced to 10 years behind bars over the death of Botham Jean. Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, was fatally shot by Guyger, now 38, on the night of September 6, 2018. Guyger, who was off-duty at the time, said she had entered Jean's apartment believing it was hers and that she shot him after suspecting he was a burglar. She was found guilty of murder in October 2019 and sentenced to a decade in prison. It is unclear exactly when she will be released from the Patrick L. O'Daniel unit in Gatesville - about 40 miles outside of Waco. Guyger was denied parole in 2024, but a spokesperson for the board said her latest request was granted after her record showed that she did not have a documented pattern of violence, The Dallas Morning News reported. The board also noted that Guyger maintained a 'satisfactory institutional adjustment' and also completed a treatment plan that 'should enhance' her chances of holding down a full-time job, according to the outlet. Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, was granted parole on Thursday after being sentenced to 10 years behind bars over the death of Botham Jean Jean, a 26-year-old accountant, was fatally shot by Guyger, now 38, on the night of September 6, 2018Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney who represented Jean's family during the trial, said he was 'deeply disappointed' to hear that Guyger was granted parole. 'Botham’s family and the community strongly opposed this parole,' Merritt said in a statement. 'They stood up again and again to ask that the full sentence be served....Releasing Ms. Guyger after seven years makes that loss feel even smaller in the eyes of the system. It is not smaller.' At the time of the deadly shooting, Guyger said that she confused Jean's apartment for hers. She lived in a third-floor unit while her neighbor lived on the fourth floor. After assuming that Jean was an intruder, the former cop fired her gun twice. Although she was off-duty, she still had her uniform on and used her service weapon in the shooting. She was fired from the police department a couple of weeks after the killing and charged with manslaughter. A grand jury later indicted her on murder, but she argued that her belief that she was in her apartment that night should have made the shooting a self-defense incident. Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney who represented Jean's family during the trial, said he was 'deeply disappointed' to hear that Guyger (pictured on the stand in 2019) was granted parole Jean has been remembered as a devout Catholic who was deeply interested in social justiceDuring her trial, prosecutors pointed to a series of text messages that Guyger exchanged with her partner, Officer Martin Rivera, at the time of the shooting. Rivera, who was in a sexual relationship with Guyger, told the court that he would often send her provocative images of himself. Just hours before the killing, the two of them sent sexually explicit messages to each other, including one where Guyger told her partner that she was 'super horny today,' NBC News reported. She had worked a 13-and-a-half-hour shift that day, and at about 9.30pm, she sent a Snapchat message to Rivera that read: 'Wanna touch?' according to the report. Guyger called 911 that night, and Jean was alive when officers and paramedics arrived, but he could not communicate. Earbuds were found next to him in the home, suggesting that he might have had them on when Guyger entered his home. He was also eating ice cream when she came inside. Although she was off-duty, she still had her uniform on and used her service weapon in the shootingThe case and Guyger's trial garnered national attention, especially when Jean's brother hugged her and said: 'I forgive you.' 'I love you as a person and I don’t wish anything bad on you,' Brandt Jean, then 18, told Guyger at the time. Another unlikely embrace then took place between Guyger and the judge who presided over her case. After the trial wrapped up and she gave the ex-cop her sentence, Judge Tammy Kemp walked over and handed Guyger a bible. She then wrapped her arms around Guyger as they prayed together, The Texas Tribune reported. After the trial wrapped up and she gave the ex-cop her sentence, Judge Tammy Kemp walked over and handed Guyger a bible. She then embraced her as they prayed togetherGuyger first became eligible for parole on September 29, 2024 - what would have been Jean's 33rd birthday. The motion was denied after Jean's family and the Dallas County district attorney's office protested the request. More than 6,300 people also signed a petition demanding she be kept in jail. By the end of that year, Jean's family was awarded $95.65 million after filing a federal lawsuit against Guyger and the city. The city was dismissed from the lawsuit, which alleged that Guyger violated the victim's constitutional rights and used excessive force, and that poor policies within the department led to his death. The Daily Mail contacted the Dallas County district attorney's office and Merritt for comment.