The Texas governor's pardon of a former Army sergeant who fatally shot a Black Lives Matter demonstrator undermines the state's legal system and constitution and should be reversed, a prosecutor says. Travis County District Attorney José Garza said Tuesday he is filing a request with the Court of Criminal Appeals—the state's highest criminal court—to review the pardon issued by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, which he said made a mockery of the legal system and put politics ahead of justice, the AP reports. "We will continue to use the legal process to seek justice," Garza said.
Daniel Perry shot and killed Garrett Foster during a protest in downtown Austin in July 2020. Perry was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in May 2023, prompting immediate calls for a pardon from conservative figures. Abbott issued the pardon last month and Perry was quickly released from prison. Perry, a white ride-share driver, claimed he was trying to drive past the crowd and fired his pistol when Foster pointed a rifle at him. Witnesses said Foster, a white Air Force veteran, never raised his gun. Prosecutors argued that Perry could have driven away without shooting. Even though Perry was convicted of murder, Abbott called the shooting self-defense, noting Texas' "Stand Your Ground" law.
The quick pardon undermined an established appeals process that was available to Perry, and violated state constitutional separation of powers, Garza said. All nine elected judges on the court are Republican. Garza said he believes the case is unique in state history, from the rapid request for a pardon and its approval, to his request for the appeals court to intervene. "All of this is new ground," he said.
- Perry's legal team called the pardon and the process kickstarted by Abbott "fully appropriate" under the state constitution and said it was Garza, a Democrat, who was driven by politics in prosecuting the case.
- Foster's mother, Sheila Foster, described the pardon as "absolutely unacceptable to our family." "We will fight this until we get justice for Garrett," Foster said at a news conference, her voice trembling with emotion. "My own child was killed on American soil for doing nothing but practicing his First and Second Amendment rights. And our governor just said, 'That's OK. That's acceptable.'"
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