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Less than 24 hours after a Texas convicted Army Sgt. Daniel Perry of murder in the 2020 shooting of a protester, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on social media Saturday that he will pardon Perry as soon as a request “hits my desk.”
“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 in a tweet.
Abbott says he will only be able to pardon Perry if there is a recommendation by the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles. He said he has asked the board to make an expedited review of Perry’s case.
Perry shot and killed Garrett Foster in July 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest downtown in a case in which Perry’s defense team argued that Perry, who was in Austin to drive Uber while at Fort Hood, fired to protect himself.
During closing arguments on Thursday, defense attorneys said Perry had no choice but to shoot Garrett Foster five times as he approached Perry’s car with an AK-47 rifle.
Prosecutors said Perry had plenty of choices, including driving away before he fired his revolver.
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A jury convicted Perry of murder, and state District Judge Clifford Brown is set to sentence him to prison in coming days. Perry faces up to life in prison.
The jury also found Perry not guilty of an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to driving in front of another protester.
Abbott’s pardon tweet came less than 24 hours after FOX TV host Tucker Carlson called out the governor on his broadcast and on Twitter to say that Texas did not recognize the right of self-defense. Carlson told viewers that he had invited Abbott to appear on the show on Monday to ask if he was considering a pardon.
On Saturday, the governor let Carlson know that he was pushing for a pardon.
The verdict instantly galvanized supporters on social media, including from Kyle Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty in the death of two protesters in Wisconsin in 2020.
“(Gov. Abbott) this is an unfair conviction please step in and free Daniel Perry,” Rittenhouse wrote on Twitter.
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Austin American-Statesman
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