Less than 24 hours after an Austin jury found Daniel Perry guilty of shooting a protester dead, Governor Greg Abbott announced on social media Saturday that he would pardon the convicted killer once a request “reaches my desk.”
The unprecedented effort, which Abbott announced to his 1 million Twitter followers, came as Abbott faced increasing calls from national conservative figures such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of the deaths of two Wisconsin protesters. in 2020. to act to urgently reverse the conviction.
“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand your ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be overturned by a jury or progressive prosecutor,” Abbott said in a statement. “I will work as fast as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry.”
Abbott’s office did not return calls from the American-Statesman on Saturday seeking additional comment. The two-week trial, with dozens of witnesses and much forensic evidence, was not broadcast. Abbott did not attend any part of the trial.
Perry, an Army sergeant, was working as an Uber driver in Austin on the night of July 25, 2020, when he ran a red light at the intersection of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue and pulled into a Black Lives Matter march before stopping.
Garrett Foster, carrying an AK-47 rifle, was among a group of protesters approaching his car. Perry told police that Foster threatened him by raising the barrel of his gun at him, so he shot him five times with a .357 revolver through his car window before driving off.
Perry’s defense team argued that he acted in self-defense, but prosecutors argued that Perry instigated what happened. They highlighted a series of social media posts and Facebook posts in which Perry made statements that they said indicated his state of mind, such as that he could “kill a few people on my way to work.” They are rioting outside my apartment complex.”
A friend replied, “Can you legally do that?” Perry replied, “If they attack me or try to pull me out of my car, yes.”
A jury unanimously convicted Perry.
District Judge Clifford Brown will sentence him to prison in the coming days. He faces life in prison.
David Wahlberg, a former Travis County criminal judge, said he can think of no other instance in state history when a governor applied for a pardon before formally appealing a verdict.
“I find it outrageously presumptuous for anyone to pass judgment on the verdict of 12 unanimous jurors without hearing the evidence in person,” Wahlberg said.
Doug O’Connell, who represents Perry, told the Statesman in a statement on Saturday: “At this point, we are fully focused on preparing for Daniel’s sentencing hearing. I visited Daniel in prison this morning. As you would expect, he is devastated. He told me about his fear that he will never be able to hug his mother again. He is also crushed that his conviction will end his military service. He loves being a soldier.”
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza had no immediate comment.
The jury deliberated for 17 hours over two days before reaching its verdict on Friday afternoon after an eight-day trial with dozens of witnesses. Perry did not testify at the trial.
Foster’s brother, Ryan Foster, said on Saturday that he didn’t think Perry should be pardoned. “This was clearly premeditated,” Ryan Foster told the Statesman. “He (Perry) thought about it a lot and planned to do it. … He wanted to kill a protester and saw someone exercising his Second Amendment right.
After the judge read the verdict to the packed courtroom on Friday, Perry, 35, buried his head in one of his lawyer’s breasts and burst into sobs. The jury also found Perry not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with driving for another protester.
Perry’s conviction was immediately condemned Friday night by gun rights advocates.
“(Gov. Abbott) this is an unfair sentence. Please intervene and free Daniel Perry,” Rittenhouse wrote on Twitter. “He had a right to defend his own life when an AK-47 was pointed at him and he doesn’t deserve to be in prison.”
Fox’s Carlson denounced the sentencing in a two-minute clip on his show, referring to the Austin protesters as a “mob of rioters” who surrounded Perry’s car and began pounding it. He said Perry fired when Foster raised his rifle.
“This is a legal atrocity,” Carlson said. “There is no right of self-defense in Texas.”
He invited Abbott to his show Monday to discuss whether he would consider pardoning Perry.
Jennifer Laurin, a law professor at the University of Texas, addressed the portion of Abbott’s statement about Texas self-defense laws. She said a jury is instructed to dismiss the defense when the person making the claim has provoked the response, as prosecutors say Perry did when he drove his car into a crowd of protesters.
“Painting the conviction as mala fide annulment is uniformed or deceptive,” Laurin tweeted.
Abbott does not have the authority under state law to grant a pardon without first obtaining a recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, whose members he appoints. In his statement, Abbott said he had already asked the board to review the verdict to determine whether Perry should be pardoned.
“I made that request and instructed the board to expedite the review,” Abbott said. “I look forward to approving the board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it reaches my desk.”
Abbott typically announces a pardon each December around Christmas.
A pardon would absolve Perry from his sentence and restore his right to vote and sit on a jury. Defense attorney Rick Cofer, who was not involved in the trial, expressed surprise at Abbott’s announcement.
“It’s what’s happening in Uganda or El Salvador,” said Cofer, a former prosecutor. “Total abolition of the rule of law. And what’s even worse is that Abbott knows better. He was a smart judge on the Texas Supreme Court. He knows that this is legally wrong. Deeply wrong. Pure politics.”
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Garrett Foster dead: Texas governor says he will pardon Daniel Perry
