Texas Governor Greg Abbott granted a full pardon on Thursday to a former U.S. Army sergeant who was convicted of murder for shooting and killing an armed protester during 2020 demonstrations against police violence and racial injustice.
Abbott announced the pardon soon after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended pardoning Daniel Perry and restoring his right to own firearms.
Perry had been serving a 25-year prison sentence since his 2023 conviction for the shooting death of Garrett Foster. He was released from prison shortly after receiving the pardon, according to a spokeswoman.
At the time of the incident, Perry, who is white, was working as a ride-share driver in Austin. Prosecutors argued he could have avoided the confrontation with Foster, a white Air Force veteran who witnesses said did not raise his gun.
Despite Perry’s murder conviction by a jury, Abbott described the shooting as an act of self-defense.
Daniel Perry enters the courtroom (Via Josh Little/Shutterstock)
“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws for self-defense, which cannot be overridden by a jury or a progressive district attorney,” Abbott stated.
Abbott, a Republican in his third term, has typically reserved pardons for lesser offenses. Notably, he did not support a posthumous pardon recommendation for George Floyd concerning a 2004 drug arrest in Houston. Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 sparked nationwide protests.
After Perry’s trial, Abbott directed the board to review the case and pledged to grant a pardon if recommended. Texas law requires the governor to have a recommendation from the board, which he appoints, in order to issue a pardon.
