AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- As expected, reaction is mixed to Thursday's full pardon of Daniel Perry, the ex-Army sergeant who had been convicted of murdering Garrett Foster in downtown Austin in the summer of 2020.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed the proclamation granting Perry's full pardon shortly after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously in favor of it Thursday.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a post on X, praised the decision. "Americans across the country have been watching this case in Texas and praying for justice after BLM riots terrorized the nation in 2020," Paxton wrote. "Our right to self-defense is enshrined in the Constitution. Soros-backed prosecutors like Jose Garza do not get to pick and choose the rights we have as Americans, and I am relieved that justice has prevailed."
Travis County District Attorney José Garza called the decision a "mockery of our legal system" in a statement. "The Board and the Governor have put their politics over justice," Garza said. "They should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions are contrary to the law and demonstrate that there are two classes of people in this state where some lives matter and some lives do not. They have sent a message to Garrett Foster’s family, to his partner, and to our community that his life does not matter. They have sent the message that the service of the Travis County community members who served on the grand jury and trial jury does not matter. To the family and friends of Garrett Foster, and to the people of Travis County, we will not stop fighting for justice."
Texas Democratic Party chair Gilberto Hinojosa also blasted the decision in a statement. "Today, a convicted murderer will walk the streets of Texas," said Hinojosa. "Texas Republicans have once again proven that they cannot keep the public safe, they are not the party of ‘tough on crime,’ and they are not the party of ‘law and order.’ Only in an authoritarian state can a murderer be fully pardoned at the direction of a Fox News TV personality and corrupt governor. Make no mistake: Daniel Perry is a murderer who was on a mission to commit violence against Texans, and today our justice system was hijacked for political gain.”
Whitney Mitchell, the fiancée of Garrett Foster, shared a statement through her attorney Thursday afternoon. “I loved Garrett Foster. I thought we were going to grow old together. He was the love of my life. He still is. I am heartbroken by this lawlessness. Governor Abbott has shown that, to him, only certain lives matter. He has made us all less safe. Daniel Perry texted his friends about plans to murder a protester he disagreed with. After a lengthy trial, with an abundance of evidence, 12 impartial Texans determined that he carried out that plan, and murdered my Garrett. With this pardon, the Governor has desecrated the life of a murdered Texan and US Air Force veteran, and impugned that jury’s just verdict. 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.”
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