In a direct challenge to Governor Greg Abbott's pardon of Daniel Perry, Travis County District Attorney José Garza is seeking to reverse the decision. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals received a petition from Garza's office, arguing that Abbott's intervention undermined judicial authority and disrupted the appeals process, according to the Texas Tribune. Perry, who was convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in 2020, had received a unanimous recommendation for a pardon from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which the governor granted immediately.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, the Division of Public Integrity and Complex Crimes' Holly Taylor stated, “When Governor Abbott issued the pardon, not only did he circumnavigate the process for pardons, he exceeded his authority and violated the separation of powers doctrine,” Taylor's comments underscore the conflict between the Travis County prosecutor's office and the higher echelons of Texas politics, with the Austin incident sparking heated debates over gun rights and protest safety. Each year, the governor typically issues pardons infrequently, with Abbott granting three pardons in 2023 and two in 2022.
Last month's pardon by Abbott occurred swiftly after Perry's sentence was dismissed despite a jury's conviction. The incident dates back to July 2020, where Perry, working for a ride-share company, encountered Foster at a downtown Austin protest. Foster was carrying an AK-47 as he marched against police brutality. Perry has maintained that he fired in self-defense when he believed Foster raised his rifle, despite witness claims to the contrary, as per statements obtained by the Texas Tribune.
Controversy has continued to swell following revelations of Perry's previous conduct, which included racist and threatening messages towards protesters and inappropriate communication with a minor. "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,'" Sheila Foster, Garrett's mother, lamented at the press conference. Perry's lawyer Doug O'Connell has brushed off Tuesday’s filing as "political theater," championing the executive's pardon power as a long-standing constitutional authority.
In the aftermath of Abbott's pardon, several attorneys general from across the U.S. pushed the Department of Justice to investigate the possibility that Perry had violated Foster's civil rights. “When states fail to protect their residents from such violations of our civil rights, it’s imperative that DOJ steps in and ensures that justice is served,” New York Attorney General Letitia James emphasized in a statement reported by the Texas Tribune. This federal push comes as Texas, a state marked by its firm stance on gun rights and increasingly contentious political climate, navigates the unsettling crossroads of civil liberties and justice.
