Texas Governor pardons Uber driver Daniel Perry convicted of murdering BLM protester | EUROtoday

The newest headlines from our reporters throughout the US despatched straight to your inbox every weekday

Your briefing on the newest headlines from throughout the US

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pardoned Uber driver Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protestor in 2020.

The pardon for the US Army Sergeant got here after a unanimous advice by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Gov Abbott stated Thursday afternoon.

“The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles conducted an exhaustive review of U.S. Army Sergeant Daniel Perry’s personal history and the facts surrounding the July 2020 incident and recommended a Full Pardon and Restoration of Full Civil Rights of Citizenship,” Governor Abbott stated in a press release.

“Among the voluminous files reviewed by the Board, they considered information provided by the Travis County District Attorney, the full investigative report on Daniel Perry, plus a review of all the testimony provided at trial.

“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. I thank the Board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation.”

Perry was convicted in April 2023 over the loss of life of Black Lives Matter demonstrator Garrett Foster, who was additionally armed, throughout 2020 racial justice protests in Austin.

Even as Perry’s conviction and sentencing have been handed down, the Governor was stating his intent to pursue a pardon.

He stated on the time that Texas had “one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defence that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney.”

On 25 July, 2020, Perry was working as an Uber driver in Austin, throughout a summer season full of quite a few racial justice protests throughout US cities following the homicide of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis smothered to loss of life by law enforcement officials who knelt on his neck.

On the night time of 25 July, Perry, who admitted he had been texting and driving distractedly, ran a pink gentle and drove into the thick of a crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators, almost hitting Whitney Mitchell, a quadruple amputee.

Among the group was Mitchell’s husband, 28-year-old Garrett Foster, an Air Force veteran, who was brazenly and legally carrying an AK-47 rifle.

Witnesses say Foster, who was white, gestured along with his gun for the Uber driver to “move on.”

According to video proven to the jury, Perry instructed police in a later interview, “I believe he was going to aim at me. I didn’t want to give him a chance to aim at me.”

Shaky video of the second, captured by journalist Hiram Gilberto, reveals the automotive in a crowd of individuals. Honking can heard. Someone close by says, “Everybody back up,” then photographs from Perry’s .357 revolver ring out, as protesters scream and scatter.

Foster was killed.

Perry fled the scene, then reported the incident to police, saying he shot in self-defence after a weapon was pointed at him, in response to the Texas Tribune.

He was later convicted of homicide and was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

Thursday’s proclamation by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles backed Governor Abbott’s 2023 declaration.

The board had concluded that on the night time of 25 July 2020, Perry’s automotive had been “surrounded by aggressive protestors who rushed to obstruct, strike, pound, smash, and kick his vehicle” on Congress Avenue in Austin.

As Garrett Foster had approached Perry’s car “within 18 inches” and waved the firearm in his course. the board discovered that he was justified in firing his gun “to eliminate a perceived threat to his safety”.

This is a breaking story and shall be up to date.