Army Sgt. Daniel Perry, who shot and killed an armed Black Lives Matter protester in the summer of 2020, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
His sentence could be cut short, however, as Gov. Greg Abbott has asked for an expedited review of the case to issue a pardon.
In early April, a Travis County jury convicted Perry of murdering 28-year-old Garrett Foster.
In downtown Austin on July 25, 2020, Foster had pointed an AK-47 at Perry while a group of BLM protesters surrounded his car and began to bang on it. Perry, who was stationed at Ford Hood and was driving for Uber for extra income, says he honked his car horn at protesters blocking an intersection.
Perry’s defense team says Foster raised the firearm at Perry, leading Perry to use his handgun in self-defense.
After the conviction, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blasted José Garza, the Travis County district attorney who received more than $400,000 from a George Soros-backed group.
“Self-defense is a God-given right, not a crime. Unfortunately, the Soros-backed DA in Travis County cares more about the radical agenda of dangerous antifa and BLM mobs than justice,” said Paxton.
There are two pieces of legislation currently in the Texas Senate and House, Senate Bill 20 and House Bill 17, that would help rein in rogue district attorneys and establish procedures for removing them from office.
Gov. Greg Abbott has also requested a recommendation for a pardon from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which the Texas Constitution requires prior to a pardon by the governor.
