A Texas appeals court on Wednesday denied a request to consider whether to reverse Gov. Greg Abbott’s pardon of Daniel Perry, who was convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter demonstrator, Air Force veteran Garrett Foster. That means Perry remains out of prison, though the prosecutor and Foster's family want him sent back. The decision from the Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday at least temporarily blocked a prosecutor’s claims that the governor overstepped his pardon authority under the state constitution and undermined the appeals process in the politically charged case, the Associated Press reports. The appeals court, made of entirely of Republican appointees, issued its decision without explanation. It was not immediately clear if Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza would ask the court to reconsider the decision and continue his attempts to reverse the pardon.
Abbott, a Republican, cited the state's "Stand Your Ground" laws as he pardoned Daniel Perry in May in the 2020 shooting death of Foster, who was marching at a downtown Austin demonstration, one of many at the time to protest against police violence and racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis. Perry, a white ride-share driver, said he accidentally drove into the rally, where he encountered Foster, who also was white and was legally carrying a rifle. Though Perry said Foster pointed a rifle at him, witnesses told police Foster did not raise his weapon and a jury convicted Perry of murder; he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, then released hours after he was pardoned.
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