A prosecutor says he is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse the governor’s pardon of a former Army sergeant who was convicted of fatally shooting a Black Lives Matter demonstrator.

The Texas governor’s pardon of a former Army sergeant who fatally shot a Black Lives Matter demonstrator undermines the state’s legal system and constitution and should be reversed, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza said he is filing request with the Court of Criminal Appeals — the state’s highest criminal court — to review the pardon issued by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, which he said made a mockery of the legal system and put politics ahead of justice.

“We will continue to use the legal process to seek justice,” Garza said during a news conference in Austin.

Daniel Perry shot and killed Garrett Foster during a protest in downtown Austin in July 2020. Perry was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in May 2023, prompting immediate calls for a pardon from conservative figures. Abbott issued the pardon last month and Perry was quickly released from prison.

    • MalachaiConstant@lemmy.world
      4·
      6 months ago

      I think that’s part of the problem with conservatives. They’re already living in abject fear of everything.

      They’ve been groomed into believing a civil war is imminent and their neighbors are the enemy, to the point where they’ve started making moves toward actual civil war with their neighbors.

      They’ve been all been told: “There is the enemy, these are their flags, here is a gun, we can keep you out of jail.”

  • TooManyFoods@lemmy.world
    54·
    6 months ago

    All you have to do in Texas to get away with murder is claim at trial he pointed the gun at you first. It doesn’t matter that the police have you on video saying the opposite, and only changed your story at trial. That the victim was trained in firearms and would have known to turn his safety off, and no round was chambered. That every witness said otherwise.

  • ✺roguetrick✺@lemmy.world
    50·
    6 months ago

    Jury nullification by racists committing murder is bad enough. Governor pardons justifies political violence. These assholes are more blatant than the old Jim Crow days.

    • Vanon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      14·
      6 months ago

      Zero chance. In Texas, decades of Republican control has corrupted the state courts, stacked supreme court (zero Democrats), who coincidentally never rule against their governor.

      Voter’s choice? I’m not convinced these types of proud facists (who’ve projected stolen elections and other lies for years) value free and fair elections. The good ol’ boys know best.

    • frezik@midwest.social
      8·
      6 months ago

      Yeah, that’s a thing in Texas?

      Don’t get me wrong, this guy is a piece of shit, and so is Abbot. I’m just surprised this is even an option.

  • AbidanYre@lemmy.worldEnglish
    27·
    6 months ago

    Aren’t the appeals board just a bunch of Abbott lackeys who recommended he pardon that murderer in the first place?

    • meco03211@lemmy.world
      11·
      6 months ago

      If they are, it might be the only avenue to pursue at this time. They wouldn’t be able to just bring it before SCOTUS for example.

    • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
      91·
      6 months ago

      But they’re often the only thing available to correct an injustice. Should civil rights pioneers not have been pardoned?

      • MisterFrog@lemmy.world
        11·
        6 months ago

        Most people would agree yes, they should be pardoned. I’m not against the idea of pardoning completely, just the idea of it being a single person questionable, since it seems a bit risky.

        Someone could have a political opponent killed and then just pardon the assassin.

        Doesn’t seem like a sensible thing to have around.

  • octopus_inkEnglish
    5·
    6 months ago

    I’ve got a bad feeling that a Governor’s pardon doesn’t have a legal avenue for being reversed. I hope I’m wrong, and IANAL, but I have a suspicion that even though this was absolute horseshit we’re going to be stuck with it.