Daniel Perry still faces misdemeanor deadly conduct charge after full pardon

Daniel Perry misdemeanor charge

Daniel Perry was convicted of murder and pardoned by Governor Abbott, but he’s not off the hook entirely.

AUSTIN, Texas - Daniel Perry was convicted of murder and pardoned by Governor Abbott, but he’s not off the hook entirely.

"Daniel was thrilled and elated. We always believed this day would come," Daniel Perry’s attorney Doug O’Connell said on May 17, 2024.

Governor Greg Abbott pardoned Perry after a unanimous recommendation from the Texas Parole Board. Abbott said in a statement, "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.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said in a statement, "The Board and the Governor have put their politics over justice and made a mockery of our legal system."

Daniel Perry issued full pardon by governor

Gov. Abbott has issued a full pardon to a former US Army Sergeant convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of an armed demonstrator during protests against police violence in 2020.

Perry was convicted in 2023 of murdering Garrett Foster, who had been legally carrying an AK-47 while marching in a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.

"Garrett was not a threat ever. The only thing that happened is Daniel Perry ran through a red light into a crowd of people," said Garrett Foster’s mother, Sheila Foster, on May 17, 2024.

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Perry was working as a ride-share driver then when he turned his car onto a street crowded with demonstrators and shot Foster before driving off. Perry claimed he acted in self-defense. He was ultimately found guilty. Just four days later, the defense filed a motion for a new trial claiming there was jury misconduct and outside influence that tainted the deliberation process.

"I think if the court was to deny the new trial motion, I think it sends a message to jurors it is okay to do outside research during a trial to try to determine what you can from the internet. You might as well have internet trials," Daniel Perry’s attorney, Clinton Broden, said in May 2023.

The motion was denied. Perry was sentenced to 25 years.

Daniel Perry pardoned: Victim's mother reacts

Gov. Abbott issued a full pardon for Daniel Perry, the former US Army sergeant convicted of murdering Garrett Foster, a Black Lives Matter protester, in 2020. Now both sides are speaking out.

"I hope that this prison sentence changes you. I hope that you see the damage that you've caused one day, but until then, I hope what you have seen and heard in this courtroom plays in your head constantly and that it haunts you," Garrett Foster’s sister Anna Mayo said in May 2023.

"There are no winners in a case like this, but our job is to keep fighting," O’Connell said in May 2023.

Perry faces a misdemeanor deadly conduct charge. The maximum punishment is a year in jail. Perry has already served more than that.

Perry is scheduled for a pretrial conference in July. FOX 7 reached out to the county attorney’s office and is waiting to hear back.

Crime and Public Safety Austin