Texas Gov. Seeks to Offer Unprecedented Pardon to Army Sergeant Convicted of Murder

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The Governor of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, said he wants to forgive a US Army sergeant for killing an armed protester during demonstrations across America about police misconduct and racism back in 2020.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to pardon Sgt. Daniel Perry, but the state constitution makes it so that he can only do this with the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. That’s why he has asked them to give their recommendation as soon as possible and promised that he will approve it when it lands on his desk.

Perry was found guilty in court on Friday for killing Garrett Foster, who was 28-years-old during a protest in Austin. He will probably be sent to prison for a very long time.

Texas Governor Abbott said that the law in Texas allows people to protect themselves, so Perry may not have to face too many serious consequences even though he did something wrong.

District Attorney José Garza’s office couldn’t be reached by phone when someone wanted to ask them questions about it.

Perry’s lawyers said that the shooting was an act of self-defense because Foster was carrying an AK-47 when he came up to Perry’s car. However, the prosecutors believed that Perry could have driven away instead of shooting with his revolver. Additionally, people who saw what happened testified that Foster never lifted his gun at Perry.

Perry got charged in 2021 and was working for a ride-sharing company when he drove into Austin in July, 2020. He saw a large crowd of people so he honked his car’s horn really loud. Suddenly, lots of people started screaming and running away after hearing several gunshots. Everything was captured on video which was broadcasted on Facebook.

When Foster was killed, a lot of people across the nation had been demonstrating for weeks due to the police killing of George Floyd.

On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrested and a Minneapolis police officer held his knee against his neck for nine long minutes even though he kept saying he couldn’t breathe.

The whole thing was recorded on video by a bystander and sparked protests everywhere to demand justice for racial discrimination.