Travis County DA Garza will ask Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn 'unlawful' pardon of Daniel Perry

AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said Tuesday his office will seek a court ruling to overturn the pardon of Daniel Perry - the man convicted of murder for fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter protester in downtown Austin in the summer of 2020.

"Almost three weeks ago, the [Texas] Board of Pardons and Paroles and the governor put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system," said Garza. "And for that they should be ashamed of themselves. Their actions were contrary to the law."

Garza said his office will file a Writ of Mandamus against Gov. Abbott, seeking intervention from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to "restore the sanctity of the rule of law in this great state."

In May 2023, a Travis County jury convicted Perry and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Garrett Foster in downtown Austin in July 2020.

Just one day after that guilty verdict, Abbott called on the Board of Pardons and Paroles to review the case. Last month, that board voted unanimously to recommend a full pardon for Perry, along with restoring his gun rights; Abbott signed that pardon minutes after the recommendation was voted upon; Perry was released from prison about an hour later, according to state officials.

"We are asking the Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse Gov. Abbott's unlawful pardon of Daniel Perry for the murder of Garrett Foster," said Holly Taylor, director of the Travis County District Attorney's Division of Public Integrity and Complex Crimes. "Our democracy and our state works when each branch of government does not exceed their constitutional authority. When Gov. Abbott issued the pardon, not only did he circumvent the process for pardons, he exceeded his authority and violated the separation of powers doctrine."