Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday that he will be granting a full pardon to Daniel Perry, a former U.S. Army sergeant who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fatally shooting an armed Black Lives Matter who pointed a rifle at him.
Abbott announced the pardon just minutes after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced that it had unanimously recommended that Perry be pardoned and have his firearm rights restored. Perry had been in state prison for more than a year after he was convicted in the 2020 killing of Garrett Foster.
Abbott had previously ordered the parole board to review Perry’s case and promised that he would grant a pardon if one were recommended. Under Texas law, the governor cannot issue a pardon unless the board recommends one.
“Among the voluminous files reviewed by the Board, they considered information provided by the Travis County District Attorney, the full investigative report on Daniel Perry, plus a review of all the testimony provided at trial,” Abbott said in a statement announcing the reprieve. “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.”
In addition to a pardon for Perry’s conviction, the board recommended a full restoration of the Army veteran’s firearms rights.
“The members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles delved into the intricacies of Perry’s case. The investigative efforts encompassed a meticulous review of pertinent documents, from police reports to court records, witness statements, and interviews with individuals linked to the case,” the pardon board wrote in a statement.
Perry was driving for Uber when he encountered a group of protesters in the street just blocks from the Texas Capitol Building in downtown Austin. Perry honked his horn at the drivers as they milled about in the street and eventually drove forward, at which point the protesters surrounded his car.
Foster was legally carrying an AK-47 rifle while attending the protest. During trial, both the prosecution and defense offered conflicting stories on whether Foster pointed the gun at Perry.
After the shooting, Perry fled the scene and called the police in order to report the incident. He claimed that he shot Foster in self-defense after he aimed the rifle at him.
Shortly before the incident, Foster explained why he was carrying a rifle at the protest. “They don’t let us march in the streets anymore, so I got to practice some of our rights,” Foster told Hiram Gilberto Garcia, an independent journalist who was streaming the protest on Periscope.
“Do you feel like you’ll need to use it?” Garcia followed up.
“Nah, I think the, uh… I mean, if I use it against the cops, I’m dead. And I think all the people that hate us and, you know, want to say sh** to us are too big of a pu***es to stop and actually do anything about it,” Foster replied.