Gov. Greg Abbott recently requested for the pardon of a man who was convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin almost three years ago, according to Austin-based media outlets.
A Travis County jury found Daniel Perry guilty of fatally shooting Garrett Foster, with Perry staring at a potential life sentence.
“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, a Republican, said on Twitter, Austin CBS affiliate KEYE reported. “Unlike the president or some other states, the Texas Constitution limits the governor's pardon authority to only act on a recommendation by the Board of Pardons and Paroles. Texas law does allow the governor to request the Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine if a person should be granted a pardon.”
Abbott added that he submitted the request to the BPP and directed it to “expedite its review.”
“I look forward to approving the Board's pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” he said.
While Perry has been convicted of murder, he was found not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, KEYE reported.
The station reported that Perry was stationed at Fort Hood in Central Texas at the time of the incident in the summer of 2020.
His legal counsel argued that the 28-year-old Foster approached their client’s vehicle – Perry had taken on rideshare work which placed him to Downtown Austin – with an AK-47 rifle while prosecutors said that he could’ve driven away before shooting Foster, according to KEYE.
The protest was in response to the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody the previous Memorial Day.
Austin FOX affiliate KTBC reported that Travis County District Attorney (DA) Jose Garza said the governor doesn’t determine a defendant’s guilt or innocence.
“As this process continues, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office will continue to fight to uphold the rule of law and hold accountable people who commit acts of gun violence in our community,” Garza, a Democrat said, per KTBC.