LAWLESS: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants to pardon a convicted murderer
Less than a day after a jury in Travis County, Texas, found U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry guilty of the shooting death of Black Lives Matter protester, Garrett Foster, Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced on Saturday that he’ll pardon the convicted killer.
Read Abbott’s statement below.
In a development reminiscent of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, the Right has a new hero in Perry.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, both Rittenhouse and Fox News host Tucker Carlson have called on Abbott to pardon Perry.
“(Gov. Abbott) this is an unfair conviction,” Rittenhouse wrote on social media, the Statesman reported.
“He was justified in defending his own life when an AK-47 was pointed at him and he doesn’t deserve to be in jail,” he added.
It appears the governor is listening.
“I will work as swiftly as Texas law allows regarding the pardon of Sgt. Perry,” Abbott said in a tweeted statement.
“Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand your ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or progressive district attorney.”
Except Abbott has a problem.
This is Texas and everything is big in Texas, particularly when it comes to pardoning convictions. Under the Texas Constitution, pardons have to come from a big group, the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
So, while Abbott can make a request on Perry’s behalf, there’s no guarantee it’ll be granted.
In July 2020, the now-convicted Perry drove from his station at Ft. Hood to Austin. He was working for Uber while driving through a BLM protest of George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer.
Perry’s defense team argued that the victim, Foster, approached Perry’s vehicle carrying an AK-47 and that Perry shot and killed out of self-defense.
But witnesses said that Perry ran a stoplight and drove straight into a BLM protest. He then pulled out a handgun and shot Foster five times before leaving the scene.
The prosecution also had strong evidence pertaining to Perry’s state of mind before leaving home. He took to social media and complained about the riots outside his home and wrote that he would “kill a few people on my way to work.”
That is damned strong evidence against “self-defense.”
Garrett’s brother, Ryan Foster, condemned talk of a pardon,
“This was clearly premeditated. He (Perry) thought a lot about it and planned on doing it. He wanted to kill a protester and saw somebody exercising their Second Amendment right,” Foster said.
The fact that any governor would be talking about pardons just days after a jury found a man guilty, by definition, negates all need for laws, trials, juries, and judges.
Given that Abbot is already talking about a pardon, it would’ve saved a lot of time and money if the state had just presented Perry before Abbot and waited for a thumbs up or down. It is called Fascism and its greatest strength is efficiency.
Yes, the legal community noticed,
Former Travis County Criminal Court Judge, David Wahlberg, wasted no words:
“I think it’s outrageously presumptuous for someone to make a judgment about the verdict of 12 unanimous jurors without actually hearing the evidence in person,”
Rick Cofer, a defense attorney, and former prosecutor, expressed his outrage by noting that this actually is akin to fascism.
“It’s what happens in Uganda or El Salvador. Total abrogation of the rule of law. And what’s even worse is that Abbott knows better. He was a smart Texas Supreme Court Justice. He knows this is legally wrong. Profoundly wrong. Pure Politics.”
Pure politics. Mr. Foster can no longer vote. And Abbot will appear on Tucker’s show Monday.
Having established that Gov. Abbot’s powers aren’t absolute, he did ask the Board for an expedited decision. He will likely get it. After all, the Governor appoints members to the Board.
Less than 24 hours ago Daniel Perry was convicted by a jury of murder—after he shot a protestor point-blank during a BLM rally blocks away from the state Capitol.
Greg Abbott says he is working to pardon Perry one day later. Absolutely insane. pic.twitter.com/BXelJpQMjs
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) April 8, 2023
Original reporting by Tony Plohetski, Claire Osborn, and Ryan Autullo at the Austin American-Statesman.
