Greg Abbott pardons Army Sergeant who fatally shot BLM protester

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned a former Army sergeant on Thursday, who fatally shot a protester during the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020.

Daniel Perry was convicted of murder for the shooting of Garrett Foster last year, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Republicans have united around Perry since the conviction, including Abbott, and claimed the shooting was done in self-defense. 

“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,” Abbott said in a statement, per the Associated Press.

The pardon comes after Abbott asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to review Perry's case, and pledged to give him a full pardon if one was recommended. The pardon was signed just a few minutes after the recommendation was announced.

Prosecutors in the case had claimed that Perry could have driven away from Foster, and did not need to shoot him. They also argued that Foster, who was white, never raised his gun at Perry. But defense lawyers claimed he did raise his gun, forcing Perry, who is also white, to shoot. The jury debated the conviction for two days.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza slammed the pardon in a statement shared with the AP.

“The board and the governor have put their politics over justice,” Garza said. “They should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not. They have sent a message to Garrett Foster’s family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter. ”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.