Texas governor seeks to pardon Army sergeant convicted of murdering protester
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday that he is seeking to pardon a U.S. Army sergeant who was convicted of murder in the 2020 fatal shooting of an armed protester during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice.
Abbott tweeted that because the state Constitution limits him to a pardon only on a recommendation by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, he is asking the board to recommend a pardon and to expedite his request in order to pardon Sgt. Daniel Perry.
“I look forward to approving the board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” Abbott wrote.
Perry was convicted Friday by a Travis County jury of fatally shooting 28-year-old Garrett Foster during a protest in Austin. He faces up to life in prison when sentenced.
“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,” Abbott said.
A phone call to Dist. Atty. José Garza’s office on Saturday was not answered.
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The defense argued that Perry, who was charged in 2021, shot in self-defense as Foster approached his car with an AK-47 rifle. Prosecutors said Perry could have driven away rather than firing his revolver, and witnesses testified that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry.
Perry was stationed at Ft. Hood, about 70 miles north of Austin, in July 2020, and was working for a ride-hailing company when he turned onto a street and into a large crowd of demonstrators in downtown Austin.
In video streamed live on Facebook, a car can be heard honking, followed by several gunshots, and protesters begin screaming and scattering.
When Foster was killed, demonstrators in Austin and beyond had been marching in the streets for weeks following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Floyd died May 25, 2020, after a police officer pressed his knee against the Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
Floyd’s murder was recorded on video by a bystander and sparked worldwide protests as part of a broader reckoning over racial injustice.
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