Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider recommending a pardon for Daniel Perry on Saturday, one day after a Travis County jury convicted the U.S. Army sergeant in the 2020 murder of Austin protester Garrett Foster, reports the Texas Tribune. After an 8-day trial and 17 hours of deliberations, jurors found Perry guilty of murder for shooting and killing Foster, who was armed with an AK-47 as part of a group protesting police brutality. Perry, an Uber driver, encountered the protest a few blocks from the Capitol .
Under pressure from conservatives, Abbott asked the parole board to review Perry’s conviction on an expedited basis. The Texas Constitution requires the parole board to recommend a pardon before a governor could act. “I look forward to approving the Board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,” Abbott said on Twitter. “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,” he added, alluding to Democratic district attorney, José Garza. Conservative Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson covered Perry’s conviction Friday. After parole board recommendations, Abbott granted two pardons in 2022, eight in 2021 and seven in 2020 — all for lower level offenses, including theft, providing alcohol to a minor, assault by contact, burglary of a vehicle, credit card abuse and illegally carrying a firearm.
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