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https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2023/05/10/daniel-perry-is-sentenced-to-25-years-for- [SPLIT] killing-an-austin-protester-gov-greg-abbott-has-pledged-to-pardon-him/

"Daniel Perry Sentenced to 25 years for Killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott Has Pledged to Pardon Him.

A Texas state district judge on Wednesday sentenced Daniel Perry to 25 years in prison for shooting to death a man protesting police brutality. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon the former U.S. Army sergeant for the crime.

Perry, 36, shot and killed U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster from his car in downtown Austin in July 2020, two months after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd. Foster, a 28-year-old white man legally carrying an AK-47, was protesting against police violence and racial injustice when Perry drove into the crowd. Perry repeatedly fired his handgun at Foster after Foster approached the car with his rifle. Perry, who is also white, has said Foster raised his rifle toward him; witnesses said he didnt.

Perrys murder trial was a difficult and distinctively Texas case that forced jurors to weigh self-defense claims and gun rights. In April, jurors deliberated for about 17 hours after listening to weeks of evidence before convicting Perry of murder.

At a hearing Tuesday before state District Judge Cliff Brown over Perrys sentence, attorneys for Perry and the state of Texas argued over the relevance of recently revealed racist and threatening comments Perry made on social media and in text messages. And they debated whether developmental disabilities and post-traumatic stress disorder suggested by Perrys hired psychologist should warrant leniency.

Defense attorneys claimed that Perrys racist memes and stated desires to kill protesters were often irrelevant to Fosters death or were barracks humor jokes taken out of context. Prosecutors argued that Perrys own psychological expert deemed the man basically a loaded gun.

He had some kind of complex PTSD, mixed in together with autism, and then you throw in this lethal military training and then he will react to perceived threats immediately and with severe consequences, Travis County Assistant District

Attorney Guillermo Gonzalez said Tuesday. And hes going to do it again.
Perrys attorneys had asked for a 10-year sentence; prosecutors sought a minimum of 25 years.

The day after Perrys conviction, conservatives slammed it on social media and national TV, and Abbott jumped into the fray, saying he would pardon Perry as quickly as possible. He requested that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles quickly review Perrys case and hand him a pardon recommendation, since the Texas governor cant issue a pardon without such a recommendation.

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 posted on Twitter.

A day later, new court documents unsealed ahead of sentencing revealed Perry had often made racist comments and regularly made clear his desire to kill protesters in the months before killing Foster. He sent messages about catching a negro daddy and hunting Muslims, and he questioned if he would be allowed to cut the ears off of people whos decided to commit suicide by me. The records also showed Perry messaging suggestively with underage girls.
When asked if the new documents changed the governors position on pardoning Perry, Abbotts office shifted the responsibility of any potential pardon onto the parole board members, whom he appoints.

All pertinent information is for the Board of Pardons and Paroles to consider, spokesperson Renae Eze said last month.

The board has begun its review, at Abbotts request, but it is unclear how long its investigation will take. Abbotts office did not immediately respond to questions about a pardon Wednesday.

Before handing down Perrys sentence Wednesday, Brown said he didnt typically speak on sentences but felt compelled to in this case on behalf of the jurors.

The hard work, the service and the sacrifice of this jury deserves our honor, and it deserves to be respected, Brown said.

Perrys hair and beard, grown out since his jury trial last month, were unkempt as he sat shackled in the gray stripes of his jail jumpsuit at his sentencing hearing. His face largely remained expressionless.

Fosters common-law wife, Whitney Mitchell, told the court how drastically her life has changed since the murder. Mitchell, a 31-year-old Black woman whose four limbs were amputated below her elbows and knees when she was a teenager, had been with Foster since they were in high school, she said in court. They lived together since 2014, and he was not only her husband but her caretaker, she said.

He helped her get into her wheelchair each morning, use the bathroom, shower, eat, even pursue her dream of designing clothing.

He did all of it, she cried from the witness stand Tuesday, dressed in a black blouse and beret.

He also helped her to protest after Floyds murder. Foster was with Mitchell when Perry killed him. Now, the home they made together in Austin, customized to be more accessible, is a harsh reminder of his absence.
Its just hard every day that Im there. Its hard to sleep in my bed because hes not there, she choked, wiping away the tears streaming down her face. He was my caregiver for 11 years.

A former supervisor and several colleagues in the Army testified on Perrys behalf, saying he was a good soldier with a positive attitude, always willing to help a fellow soldier and treat everyone fairly, regardless of race. They all said theyd eagerly serve with Perry again. (Prosecutors brought forward other negative evaluations from other supervisors, one of whom said Perry was one of the worst examples of leadership.)

Two of Perrys former colleagues, Black men, told the court they didnt think of Perry as racist and werent offended by the racist social media posts and text messages Perry shared, which became public after he was found guilty of Fosters murder.

One meme Perry shared the month before Floyds murder showed a white woman holding her childs head under water in the bathtub with the caption, WHEN YOUR DAUGHTERS FIRST CRUSH IS A LITTLE NEGRO BOY. After being shown the meme in court, former Army Sgt. Ronald Wilson quickly said he wasnt offended by it."

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