Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Bill Clark/Getty Images
Gov. Greg Abbott yesterday pardoned a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester in Austin in 2020.
The big picture: Daniel Perry was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year for fatally shooting U.S. Air Force veteran Garrett Foster.
Within 24 hours of his conviction by a Travis County jury, Abbott announced that he had asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine if Perry should be granted a pardon.
State of play: Abbott issued a proclamation pardoning Perry the same day the board — whose members are appointed by the governor — recommended a full pardon.
Between the lines: Abbott's proclamation accuses Travis County District Attorney José Garza of "unethical and biased misuse of his office" in prosecuting Perry.
The other side: Garza previously told Axios Abbott's "focus is to play politics with public safety."
What they're saying: Abbott "has shown that to him, only certain lives matter," Whitney Mitchell, Foster's former partner, said in a statement. "He has made us all less safe."
"He has declared that Texans who hold political views that are different from his — and different from those in power — can be killed in this state with impunity."
Catch up quick: Perry drove into a crowd of demonstrators protesting police violence in downtown Austin. He later shot and killed Foster, who was legally armed with an AK-47 rifle.
While Perry argued during trial he acted in self-defense, the prosecution argued that Perry had instigated the incident.
